Wisconsin voters head to the polls in high-profile race for Supreme Court justice

Record ID: 1987595

  • Title: Wisconsin voters head to the polls in high-profile race for Supreme Court justice
  • Date: 1st April 2025
  • Summary: MADISON, WISCONSIN, UNITED STATES (APRIL 1, 2025) (REUTERS) PEOPLE STANDING IN LINE AT OLBRICH GARDENS WAITING FOR POLL SITE TO OPEN SIGN READING (English) “OLBRICH BOTANICAL GARDENS / WELCOME” FRONT DOORS OPENING, MAN SAYING (NOT A SOUNDBITE) “Good morning. Everyone can come in.” / PEOPLE WALKING INTO POLL SITE (SOUNDBITE) (English) WISCONSIN RESIDENT, JIM YOUNG, SAYING:
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: Elon Musk Madison Olbrich Gardens Wisconsin Wisconsin State Supreme Court election voters
  • Location: MADISON, WISCONSIN, UNITED STATES
  • City: MADISON, WISCONSIN, UNITED STATES
  • Country: US
  • Topics: North America,Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
  • Reuters ID: LVA001317601042025RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:Voters in Madison, Wisconsin, got an early start casting their ballots in the state's election for a new Supreme Court justice on Tuesday (April 1). The high-profile race offers an early referendum on Donald Trump's presidency, with abortion rights, labor rights, and election rules all potentially in the balance.
    "I think it's an important race to make sure that we have some, what I think is representative judicial, you know, people, instead of people that are bought and sold," said Wisconsin resident Jim Young outside the Olbrich Gardens poll site.
    The campaign is easily the most expensive judicial contest in U.S. history. More than $90 million has been spent by the candidates, the state parties, and outside groups - including more than $21 million by Trump ally Elon Musk and political groups with ties to him, according to a tally from New York University's Brennan Center.
    Liberal Susan Crawford, a county judge, and conservative Brad Schimel, a former Republican state attorney general and also a county judge, are vying for a seat on the court that currently has a 4-3 liberal edge. The race is technically non-partisan, though Trump has endorsed Schimel and both state Democrats and Republicans have lined up behind their preferred candidate.
    The court is likely to issue critical rulings on voting rights and election rules ahead of the 2026 midterms and the 2028 presidential race, when Wisconsin is expected to remain a central battleground. Trump won Wisconsin in November by less than a percentage point - the closest margin of any state.
    The court is also poised to decide whether abortion rights should remain legal statewide and could revisit a Republican-backed law that stripped most public employee unions of collective bargaining rights.
    (Production by: Hussein Al Waaile, Dan Fastenberg, Christine Kiernan)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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