Conservative appellate Judge Maria Lazar launches bid for open Wisconsin state Supreme Court seat 

Conservative appellate Judge Maria Lazar announced on Wednesday that she would be launching a bid for an open Wisconsin Supreme Court seat vacated by conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley.

Lazar's entry into the race sets up a high-stakes contest that will determine whether Republicans can reverse their recent losses on the high court. 

“I am an independent, impartial judge who strives to follow the law and Constitution in every decision I make from the bench. It is time to restore that level of judicial dedication to the court,” Lazar said in a four-minute ad introducing herself to voters. 

“This is a campaign to restore justice to our Supreme Court, not to place a partisan politician into a robe and on a court that stands atop our judicial system,” she said. 

Lazar is a court of appeals judge in District 2, previously serving as a Waukesha County circuit court judge and an assistant attorney general under former state Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen (R). 

In her role as Wisconsin assistant attorney general, she defended Republican legislation around voter ID, legislation that largely curbed public employees’ collective bargaining rights called Act 10, state legislative maps and abortion access, according to Wisconsin Public Radio and The Associated Press.  

There are several pending cases working their way through the courts involving some of those issues, including the state’s congressional maps and Act 10. 

Lazar also attacked her opponent, liberal appellate Judge Chris Taylor, for her time in the state Legislature as a former Democratic state representative.

“I became a judge after a long legal career, and my opponent has always been a politician first,” she said.

“My opponent spent years in the Legislature. I am fair, independent and impartial. That is what every justice should be,” she said. 

Taylor and Lazar are vying for an open seat on the state Supreme Court after Bradley announced in August she would not be seeking reelection in April. The Wisconsin Supreme Court has a 4-3 liberal majority, but Bradley’s retirement would bring the balance to 4-2.

The state Supreme Court races have led to record-breaking fundraising, and earlier this year the involvement of Elon Musk.

Conservatives will need to hold Bradley’s spot in the state’s high court next year to limit the state Supreme Court to its current a narrow liberal majority or risk further erosion and a more dominant liberal 5-2 edge.

It’s not immediately clear if other candidates will also launch bids in the race. 

The stakes are already high for Republicans after the party lost several consecutive state Supreme Court races, with Democrats notably gaining wins from those elections through the high court striking down the state’s 1849 abortion law and paving the way for new state legislative maps. 

Wisconsin is also one of a handful of swing states, meaning control over the state’s highest court is particularly coveted.  

Taylor campaign manager Ashley Franz wasted no time in attacking Lazar, arguing she would be the “the most extreme member of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.” 

“Just like Rebecca Bradley, Maria Lazar has spent her career rolling back people’s rights, attacking reproductive health care and voting rights, and doing the bidding of powerful special interests and her billionaire friends,” Franz said. 

The primary for the state Supreme Court race is Feb. 17, with the top two vote-getters running in the general election, which is scheduled for April 7.