Maria Lazar (R) and Chris Taylor (D) face off in the 2026 election for an open Wisconsin Supreme Court seat

The 2026 race for a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat will have the same intensity and partisan focus as the state’s last two high court elections, but its ideological balance is not at stake, so it’s not clear if spending or turnout will approach the record-setting levels as the 2023 and 2025 elections.

Wisconsin Court of Appeals Judge Chris Taylor announced she was running in May 2025, when it still appeared incumbent Justice Rebecca Bradley might run for another 10-year term. In August, though, Bradley announced she would not seek another term. At the beginning of October, Wisconsin Court of Appeals Judge Maria Lazar announced her candidacy.

Wisconsin Supreme Court elections are technically non-partisan, the same as all spring elections. But over the last twenty years, the races have become more and more partisan, and in the present electoral environment there is typically one candidate aligned with the Democratic Party of Wisconsin — in this instance, Chris Taylor — and one aligned with the Republican Party of Wisconsin —namely, Maria Lazar.

Elections in 2023 and 2025 were for open seats where the winner would determine whether the conservative or liberal wing of the court would have a majority. Those elections drew more than 100 million dollars in spending apiece and received considerable national media attention. The liberal candidate won both seats, with now Justices Janet Protasiewicz and Susan Crawford sailing to easy wins, respectively. These two justices make up half of the current 4-3 liberal majority.




https://pbswisconsin.org/news-item/maria-lazar-and-chris-taylor-face-off-in-the-2026-election-for-an-open-wisconsin-supreme-court-seat/