Patrick Marley for WaPo:

 Republican lawmakers in this political battleground state appear to be easing off an effort to impeach a new liberal state Supreme Court justice who in her campaign promoted abortion rights and condemned gerrymandering…

State Sen. Duey Stroebel (R), one of the most conservative lawmakers in Wisconsin, told Milwaukee’s CBS affiliate in remarks reported Tuesday that he opposed impeaching Protasiewicz, in part because Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) could replace her with someone else.

Republicans hold 22 of the 33 seats in the state Senate — exactly the number needed to remove an official who has been impeached by the State Assembly. Losing a single Senate vote could be fatal to their efforts because all Democrats are expected to rally behind Protasiewicz.

Republicans in the State Assembly hold 64 of 99 seats, well above the 50 votes they would need to impeach Protasiewicz. An impeachment would immediately bar Protasiewicz from acting on any cases and trigger intense pressure on the state Senate to hold a vote on whether to remove Protasiewicz or let her continue to serve.

Vos last month said he had formed a panel of former justices to advise him on impeachment but declined to name who was on it. The watchdog group American Oversight last month filed a lawsuit arguing the group of former justices was subject to the state’s open-meetings law and had to conduct its work in public.

In response to that lawsuit, Prosser released his memo and other documents. He also provided American Oversight with text messages and voice messages from former chief justice Patience Roggensack that suggest she has worked on the issue with Prosser. Those messages do not reveal her views on impeachment, but in one voice message she argued the group of former justices were not subject to the open-meetings law.