Rachel Lauter
Wisconsin held an election yesterday for a state supreme court judgeship, which is has been viewed by pretty much everyone as a proxy battle between Republican Governor Scott Walker and the pro-labor community. As of the writing of this post, Democrat JoAnne Kloppenburg, the candidate of the pro-labor community, had a small lead– about 200 votes– over the sitting judge, David Prosser.
There will likely be a recount and a long legal battle going forward, and the results of the election will obviously have a long-lasting impact on the Wisconsin judiciary. But one additional lasting impact this election might have is to mobilize advocacy organizations around judicial elections throughout the country. The Wisconsin election is reminiscent of what happened to Iowa’s supreme court this past fall around the issue of same-sex marriage.
[Read more…] about Judicial Elections, in Wisconsin and Beyond