The longest-serving member of the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s 4-3 liberal majority announced Thursday she would not run for reelection next year, shaking up a consequential race in a swing state and giving conservatives their last hope of regaining control of the court before 2028.
Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, who has served on the court since 1995, told The Washington Post ahead of her announcement that she is confident someone who shares her judicial perspective can replace her after she completes her term. But her retirement sets the stage for an intense race for control of the court two years after candidates, political parties and interest groups spent more than $50 million for a seat on the court in the most expensive judicial race in U.S. history.
In recent years, the court voted 4-3 to confirm Joe Biden’s win in the state’s last presidential election, ban ballot drop boxes and end a Republican gerrymander of the state legislature. Soon, by a similar margin, it could determine whether abortion remains legal in one of the country’s most closely watched presidential battlegrounds….