Wisconsin Supreme Court race draws attention from national figures as state heads to the polls Tuesday
Residents of the Badger State will have their last chance Tuesday to vote in an unusually high-stakes race for a seat on Wisconsin's Supreme Court.
The nonpartisan election pits Dane County Judge Susan Crawford, who is backed by the Democratic Party, against Republican-endorsed Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel in what has been the most expensive judicial election in American history. The campaigns and their supporters have spent
more than $81 million
, attracting endorsements and campaign appearances from
Elon Musk
, Vermont Democratic Sen. Bernie Sanders and other national political figures.
The race is seen by some as an early swing-state test of voter sentiment related to President Trump's performance in the White House, but it's also a crucial statewide race that could swing ideological control of Wisconsin's closely divided highest court.
Liberals currently hold a 4-3 majority, and the court is expected to consider cases related to abortion rights, congressional redistricting, union power and voting and election rules.
By Monday morning, 644,800 advance ballots had been returned, representing about a 40% increase over the advance total in Wisconsin's 2023 judicial race, and that year also set a turnout record. About a third of advance ballots so far have come from heavily Democratic counties of Milwaukee and Dane, in the Madison area, and that's roughly in line with their share of the advance vote in 2023.
Nineteen percent of advance ballots have come from the WOW counties in the Milwaukee suburbs of Waukesha, Ozaukee, and Washington, which is a couple of points higher than their share in 2023.
Given that the more liberal candidate won the 2023 race by double digits, the early turnout numbers look good for Crawford. But the bulk of the voting is expected to occur on Election Day, when Schimel could very well close a gap.
Musk, the world's wealthiest person and an ally to Mr. Trump, has personally campaigned and spent big in an effort to sway voters toward Schimel, who both he and Mr. Trump have endorsed.
That effort nearly collided with the justices currently seated on the state's Supreme Court, when Musk was sued over his promise to hand out
$1 million
to individual voters at a campaign event over the weekend.
The court unanimously declined on Sunday to hear a last-minute attempt by the state's Democratic attorney general to stop billionaire Musk's checks from going out. At a rally soon after the decision,
Musk handed
two people oversized posters depicting $1 million checks, declaring that the money was payment in exchange for promises they'd be spokespeople for his political group.
Five of the court's seven justices have endorsed a candidate in the race. The court's liberal justices have endorsed Crawford. One of the court's conservative justices has endorsed Schimel, who wore a "Make America Great Again" hat while campaigning Sunday.
Polls in Wisconsin close Tuesday at 8 p.m., which is also the deadline to get absentee ballots to municipal clerks.
Kabir Khanna
contributed to this report.
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San Francisco Chronicle
25 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
New Jersey can have a grand jury investigate clergy sex abuse allegations, state high court rules
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey can have a grand jury examine allegations of clergy sexually abusing children, the state's Supreme Court ruled Monday, after a Catholic diocese that had tried for years to block such proceedings recently reversed course. The Diocese of Camden previously had argued that a court rule prevents the state attorney general from impaneling a grand jury to issue findings in the state's investigation into decades of allegations against church officials. But the diocese notified the court in early May that it would no longer oppose that. Camden Bishop Joseph Williams, who took over the diocese in March, said he'd met with stakeholders in the diocese and there was unanimous consent to end the church's opposition to the grand jury. The seven-member Supreme Court concluded such a grand jury inquiry is allowed. 'Courts cannot presume the outcome of an investigation in advance or the contents of a presentment that has not yet been written," the court wrote in an opinion joined by all seven justieces. 'We find that the State has the right to proceed with its investigation and present evidence before a special grand jury.' The state attorney general's office praised the decision in an emailed statement and said it's committed to supporting survivors of sexual abuse. 'We are grateful for the New Jersey Supreme Court's decision this morning confirming what we have maintained throughout this lengthy court battle: that there was no basis to stop the State from pursuing a grand jury presentment on statewide sexual abuse by clergy,' First Assistant Attorney General Lyndsay V. Ruotolo said in an emailed statement. An email seeking comment was sent Monday to the Catholic League, an adcvocacy and civil rights organization that still opposed the grand jury after the diocese's change. A Pennsylvania grand jury report in 2018 found more than 1,000 children had been abused in that state since the 1940s, prompting the New Jersey attorney general to announce a similar investigation. The results of New Jersey's inquiry never became public partly because the legal battle with the Camden diocese was unfolding amid sealed proceedings. Then this year, the Bergen Record obtained documents disclosing that the diocese had tried to preempt a grand jury and a lower court agreed with the diocese. The core disagreement was whether a court rule permits grand juries in New Jersey to issue findings in cases involving private individuals. Trial and appellate courts found that isn't allowed. Hearing arguments on April 28, members of the high court repeatedly questioned whether challenging the state was premature, since lower court proceedings prevented New Jersey from seating a grand jury that would investigate any allegations or issue findings, called a presentment. 'We don't know what a grand jury would say, am I right?' Justice Anne Patterson asked the attorney for the diocese. Lloyd Levenson, the church's attorney, answered that 'you'd have to be Rip Van Winkle' not to know what the grand jury would say. 'The goal here is obviously to condemn the Catholic Church and priests and bishops,' he said. He noted the state could still pursue criminal investigations and abuse victims could seek civil penalties. The court said Monday it wasn't ruling on any underlying issues and a trial court judge would still have the chance to review the grand jury's findings before they became public. Mark Crawford, state director of the Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests, said Monday in a text message he's 'elated' by the court's decision. "Decades of crimes against children will finally be exposed," he said. How the diocese won early rulings In 2023, a trial court judge sided with the diocese, finding that a grand jury would lack authority because it would be focused on 'private conduct,' rather than a government agency's actions. An appeals court affirmed that judgment last year, and the attorney general's office appealed to the state Supreme Court. Documents the high court unsealed in March sketched out some of what the state's task force has found so far, without specific allegations. They show 550 phone calls alleging abuse from the 1940s to the 'recent past' came into a state-established hotline. The diocese argued a grand jury isn't needed, largely because of a 2002 memorandum of understanding between New Jersey Catholic dioceses and prosecutors. The memorandum required church officials to report abuse and said authorities would be provided with all relevant information about the allegations. But the Pennsylvania report led to reexamining the statute of limitations in New Jersey, where the time limits on childhood sex abuse claims were overhauled in 2019. The new law allows child victims to sue until they turn 55 or within seven years of their first realization that the abuse caused them harm. The previous statute of limitations was age 20, or two years after realizing abuse caused harm. Also in 2019, New Jersey's five Catholic dioceses listed more than 180 priests who have been credibly accused of sexually abusing minors over several decades. Many listed were deceased and others removed from ministry. The church has settled with accusers The Camden diocese, like others nationwide, filed for bankruptcy amid a torrent of lawsuits — up to 55, according to court records — after the statute of limitations was relaxed. In 2022, the diocese agreed to pay $87.5 million to settle allegations involving clergy sex abuse against some 300 accusers, one of the largest cash settlements involving the Catholic church in the U.S. The agreement, covering six southern New Jersey counties outside Philadelphia, exceeded the nearly $85 million settlement in 2003 in the clergy abuse scandal in Boston, but was less than settlements in California and Oregon.
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
What we know about the Minnesota shooting suspect
The man accused of shooting Democratic state lawmakers in Minnesota on Saturday while impersonating a police officer worked for a security company that advertised a fleet of 'police type vehicles,' and other equipment that could potentially have aided him in appearing to be law enforcement. Vance Boelter was also an outspoken evangelical Christian who traveled to Africa to tell his faith story and, in at least one sermon, pointedly questioned American morals on sexual orientation, according to videos and social media posts reviewed by CNN. Boelter was a conservative who was strongly against abortion rights, a longtime friend told CNN on Saturday. But Boelter never mentioned any particular anger with the lawmakers who were shot, said David Carlson. 'It wasn't the thing that defined him,' he said of his religious and political beliefs. Carlson added, 'He wasn't a hateful person. But he needed help.' Boelter, 57, was arrested Sunday night in the city of Green Isle, Minnesota, where he lived, according to authorities. He's accused of killing one lawmaker and her husband and wounding another and his wife early Saturday. Officials said he left behind an apparent hit list with dozens of names in his car after exchanging fire with police outside the home of one victim and fleeing the scene. Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, said the attack 'appears to be a politically motivated assassination.' State officials said authorities early on Saturday encountered what appeared to be a police vehicle with emergency flashing lights in the driveway of Rep. Melissa Hortman's home. Officers at the home 'saw (Boelter)…dressed as a police officer, shoot an adult man' through the open front door, according to a criminal complaint obtained by the Minnesota Star Tribune. The suspect 'exchanged gunfire' with police and ran into the house, ultimately disappearing from the area, according to the complaint. Hortman – the top Democrat in the Minnesota House – and her husband were both killed. At a nearby home, Minnesota State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife were also shot but are in stable condition after surgery. Police said they are still investigating a motive for the attacks. The names on the list, which CNN obtained, are largely Democrats or figures with ties to Planned Parenthood or the abortion rights movement. The list included prominent lawmakers like Rep. Ilhan Omar and Sen. Tina Smith as well as Planned Parenthood leaders. Police said Boelter also had fliers for anti-Trump protests in his car, raising fears that he may also have intended to target those rallies. Boelter largely shied away from political posts in his publicly available social media feeds and did not discuss abortion rights in any religious speeches reviewed by CNN. In one talk he gave in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2023, he appeared sharply critical of LGBTQ rights. 'There's people especially in America, they don't know what sex they are, they don't know their sexual orientation, they're confused. The enemy has gotten so far into their mind and their soul,' he said in a sermon at a Pentecostal church in eastern DRC. Carlson said Boelter was recently having financial problems, possibly due to his regular travels to Africa. The security firm had failed to find traction, Carlson said, leaving Boelter scrambling to find work, including at a funeral home. 'Problem is, he quit all his jobs to go down there,' he said. 'And then he comes back and tries to find new jobs. Wasn't working out that good.' Those who knew Boelter from his church work said they were stunned that he was linked to the violence on Saturday. Pastor McNay Nkashama, who said he knew Boelter as a volunteer who preached Christianity, said he was struggling to reconcile the allegations with the man he knew. 'Of all the people I know, he would not hurt a fly,' Nkashama said in a brief telephone interview. 'I just cannot believe it.' Although Boelter lived in the small town of Green Isle about an hour outside Minneapolis, he often crashed in Carlson's rented home in the city. Carlson, 59, spoke with reporters Saturday night in front of the small home after returning from the lumber store to buy plywood for the windows, which had been busted open by a SWAT team earlier in the day. Carlson said he last heard from Boelter around 6:30 pm on Friday night. He said he knocked on Boelter's door, and when Boelter said he was tired, Carlson watched TV and went to bed. He said he awoke around 6:30 am Saturday and soon after he saw a text message from Boelter. It's unclear when the text was sent. Carlson declined to read it to reporters on Saturday night, but Reuters had reported earlier that Boelter told Carlson that he might be dead soon. After seeing the text message, Carlson said, he called the police. 'I thought he would do self-harm; I didn't think he was … ' his voice trailed off. Boelter served on a state board with Hoffman, records show. In 2019, Walz put Boelter on the Governor's Workforce Development Board – a group of business owners who recommend policies to the state government. In a letter, Walz said the post was in recognition of Boelter's 'integrity, judgment, and ability.' According to a spokesperson for the governor, the development board, which has more than 60 members, is one of many external boards and commissions whose members are unpaid and come from 'all parties.' The spokesperson said the governor does not interview applicants to the boards. It's unclear how closely Boelter and Hoffman interacted in that role, if at all. 'We are still exploring that,' Drew Evans, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension superintendent said in a news conference Saturday afternoon about whether Boelter knew the victims directly. 'There's certainly some overlap with some public meetings, I will say, with Sen. Hoffman and the individual, but we don't know the nature of the relationship or if they actually knew each other.' Boelter has worked as director of security patrols for Praetorian Guard Security Services, which provides 'random armed patrols' of customers' properties, according to the company's webpage – which also suggests he could have had access to uniforms and equipment that could aid in impersonating a police officer. The firm was registered to Boelter's home address and listed a woman who is apparently his wife as president and CEO; she did not respond to messages from CNN. The site advertised that the firm had 'police-type vehicles' and noted, 'We drive the same make and model of vehicles that many police departments use in the U.S. Currently we drive Ford Explorer Utility Vehicles.' The firm's website boasted of Boelter having experience in foreign conflict zones. It said that he was 'involved with security situations in Eastern Europe, Africa, North America and the Middle East, including the West Bank, Southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.' Video from outside Hortman's home on Saturday showed law enforcement towing a black Ford Explorer equipped with police lights. Archived photos from a home previously owned by Boelter show a similar vehicle in the driveway. In speeches reviewed by CNN, Boelter described his deep faith and said he was born again into the church as a teenager. 'I met Jesus when I was 17 years old and I gave my life to him,' Boelter told the church in the DRC in February 2023. 'And I just wanted to tell everybody about Jesus.' Records also show that Boelter once launched a Christian nonprofit called Revoformation Ministries. An archived website under that name includes a biography of him, describing Boelter as having traveled extensively to preach Christianity, including in the Middle East, where the site says he had sought out 'militant Islamists in order to share the gospel and tell them that violence wasn't the answer.' That website described Boelter as a reverend and an author, noting that he had written a book that presents a 'different paradigm on the nature of man and our relationship with God.' CNN reviewed numerous videos of Boelter preaching in the DRC from 2021 to 2023. Boelter appears emotional when describing his religious devotion. He also frequently talked about his connection to the DRC and what he perceived as the suffering the country has endured due to decades of internal conflict and meddling of other countries. 'I've been to North and South America, I've been to the Middle East, I've been to Eastern Europe, and I've been in the DRC. I've never been in a country before like the DRC that has had so much taken away. I hear the history, and it hits my heart. So many people, so many countries have taken, taken, taken,' he said in 2022. Boelter said he worked at major food brands such as Nestlé, and was the general manager of a 7-11, according to an online resume. Boelter registered to vote as a Republican in the early 2000s, state records show. Carlson said he was a Trump voter. In a post six years ago on LinkedIn, Boelter encouraged people to vote and wrote, 'I think the election is going to have more of an impact on the direction of our country than probably any election we have been apart of, or will be apart of for years to come.' A state document that listed his 2019 appointment to a development board noted he had 'no party preference.' Boelter's LinkedIn page claims he had a doctorate in educational leadership and a masters of science in management, both from Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee, and he used the prefix Dr. on his website and social media. Social media posts also indicate he has multiple children. A search of Minnesota criminal records showed no cases against Boelter aside from some traffic charges. Boelter had a property outside the small town of Green Isle, about 50 miles west of Minneapolis, according to records. A sheriff's deputy was blocking a gravel road leading to the home on Saturday afternoon. In the town's restaurants and bars, no one who spoke to CNN knew Boelter or his family. Carlson said he thought Boelter's recent financial struggles may have pushed him into violence. 'He was looking around, but maybe things didn't work out and he just gave up and decided to go out in the blaze of glory,' he said. 'I have no idea what he was thinking.' This story has been updated with an interview with David Carlson. CNN's Majlie de Puy Kamp and Bob Ortega contributed to this report.
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Minnesota lawmaker shooting suspect Vance Boelter expected to appear in court today. Here's how the manhunt unfolded.
The man accused of shooting two Democratic state lawmakers and their spouses in Minnesota while impersonating a police officer was taken into custody in rural Sibley County, about 50 miles away from Minneapolis, on Sunday evening, ending a massive two-day manhunt that was described as the largest in the state's history. The suspect, Vance Luther Boelter, 57, was arrested and charged with two counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder in the fatal shooting of former Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and the shooting of Democratic state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, in their homes north of Minneapolis early Saturday. Boelter is due to appear in court on Monday afternoon. "One man's unthinkable actions have altered the state of Minnesota," Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said at a news conference announcing Boelter's arrest, calling the killing of Hortman a 'politically motivated assassination." Authorities reportedly recovered an apparent hit list containing the names of dozens of Minnesota Democrats, including Walz, U.S. Sen. Tina Smith, U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar and state Attorney General Keith Ellison. "This cannot be the norm,' Walz added. 'It cannot be the way that we deal with our political differences.' Authorities say the attacks began around 2 a.m. on Saturday, when Boelter shot and wounded John and Yvette Hoffman at their Champlin, Minn., home. Police received a 911 call from the couple's adult daughter just after 2 a.m., reporting that a masked person had come to their door and shot her parents. Responding officers said they found the Hoffmans with multiple gunshot wounds. Both are expected to survive. 'John is enduring many surgeries right now and is closer every hour to being out of the woods,' Yvette Hoffman said in a text shared by Sen. Amy Klobuchar on X. 'He took 9 bullet hits. I took 8 and we are both incredibly lucky to be alive. Surveillance video taken from the Hoffman home showed the armed suspect wearing a mask and a tactical vest near the door of the residence, and a Ford SUV with 'police-style lights' parked in the driveway. According to a criminal complaint obtained by the Minnesota Star Tribune, at least three AK-47 assault rifles and a handgun were found in the vehicle along with the list of names of Democratic officials. When police in nearby Brooklyn Park learned that a lawmaker had been shot, they sent patrol officers to proactively check on the Hortmans' home. Around 3:35 a.m., they encountered an SUV with emergency lights on in the driveway and Boelter posing as a police officer as he shot Mark Hortman through the open door of the home. The suspect and officers exchanged fire, and Boelter fled. Police recovered a ballistic vest, mask and a 'gold police-style badge' at that scene. On Sunday, authorities located Boelter's vehicle abandoned in Sibley County, near his Green Isle, Minn., home. An officer then spotted what he believed to be the suspect running into the woods, setting off a frantic search. According to authorities, a large perimeter was established, and nearly 200 law enforcement officers — including members of 20 regional and local SWAT teams — as well as helicopters and drones were involved in the manhunt. Police received another tip that a man was running in the woods, allowing officers to hone in on the suspect. Hours later, Boelter was located by law enforcement and crawled out to surrender. Lt. Col. Jeremy Geiger of the Minnesota State Patrol said Boelter was armed, but no shots were fired, and he was handcuffed and taken into custody. Boelter was booked into the Hennepin County Jail, where he is being held. Boelter is a married father who worked for a security services firm in the Twin Cities area. According to ABC News, Boelter 'touted an extensive background in security and military training' online. According to CNN, he was also an outspoken evangelical Christian who 'traveled to Africa to tell his faith story and, in at least one sermon, pointedly questioned American morals on sexual orientation.' 'There's people especially in America, they don't know what sex they are, they don't know their sexual orientation, they're confused,' he said in the sermon. 'The enemy has gotten so far into their mind and their soul.' The apparent target list recovered inside the fake police vehicle included figures with ties to Planned Parenthood or the abortion rights movement. Authorities have yet to publicly identify a motive for the shootings. And it's unclear whether Boelter had any direct ties with the victims. According to the Associated Press, Boelter served on the same state workforce development board as John Hoffman, records show, though it was not clear if or how well they knew each other. The shootings, which came the same day of the No Kings protests against President Trump and Trump's own military parade, drew condemnation from lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle. But at least one U.S. senator, Republican Mike Lee of Utah, is facing criticism for social media posts suggesting that Boelter is a 'Marxist,' a label often used by Republicans to disparage Democrats as communists. "This is what happens When Marxists don't get their way," Lee posted on X with a photo of the suspect in a mask. Lee also shared another post of Boelter with the caption: "Nightmare on Waltz Street," an apparent misspelled reference to Walz, the Minnesota Democratic governor.
