Patrick Marley for WaPo:

President Donald Trump and adviser Elon Musk’s policies will get their first major test at the ballot box this spring in an election that will determine who controls the Wisconsin Supreme Court and shape the future of abortion rights and union power in the swing state.

Two years ago, liberals gained a 4-3 majority on the court after 15 years of conservative control. They threw out legislative maps that gave Republicans commanding majorities in the statehouse, reinstated the use of absentee ballot drop boxes and accepted cases that will decide whether abortion remains legal in the state.

But with a liberal justice retiring this year, conservatives now have a shot at regaining the majority. If they do not, liberals are poised to control the court until at least 2028, and interest groups are expected to file redistricting litigation that could give Democrats one or two more seats in Congress….

Candidates and political organizations spent more than $50 million on the last Wisconsin Supreme Court race — the most ever spent on a court race in any state, including those much larger than Wisconsin. This contest could be even more expensive, and both sides are unleashing an onslaught of ads — many of them about the candidates’ handling of child sex offenses — with the help of billionaire donors.

On the left, financier George Soros, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman have poured money into the race. On the right, Musk’s political operation and Republican megadonors Richard Uihlein and Diane Hendricks have joined the fray….