Latest news with #Wisconsinites'
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Judge Chris Taylor announces campaign for Wisconsin Supreme Court
Wisconsin Appeals Court Judge Chris Taylor in her Dane County chambers. | Photo courtesy Chris for Justice campaign Appeals court judge and former Democratic state Assembly member Chris Taylor announced Tuesday she's running for a seat on the state Supreme Court in next year's spring election. Taylor, who was elected to the Court of Appeals in 2023, will run against conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley in a race that will decide if liberals expand their majority on the Court. The two previous state Supreme Court elections, which consolidated the current 4-3 liberal majority, broke national spending records for judicial races. While the stakes won't be as high in next year's race, Bradley has been a prominent supporter of conservative causes since she was appointed to the Court by Gov. Scott Walker in 2015. Bradley sided with President Donald Trump in his effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election and has been a vocal member of the right-wing Federalist Society. The election takes place just seven months before the midterm elections when statewide offices including governor and attorney general, as well as control of the Legislature, will be up for grabs — giving the state a view of the voting public's mood before November. Taylor previously worked as Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin's public policy director and served in the Assembly from 2013 until she was appointed to the Dane County Circuit Court in 2020. 'As an attorney, public servant, and now as a judge, I've always been committed to making sure everyone is able to access our justice system,' Taylor said in a statement. 'The law is a powerful tool for protecting Wisconsinites, holding people accountable, and making our state stronger.' 'Justices on the Wisconsin Supreme Court must be fair, independent, and impartial,' Taylor said. 'Justice Rebecca Bradley has proven that she's more interested in pushing her own right-wing political agenda than protecting Wisconsinites' rights and freedoms. Extremism and partisanship have no place on our state's highest court. Everyone who comes before the court deserves to be heard, respected, and treated equally – that's exactly what I'll do as a Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice.' While Taylor has been elected to office six times, she has only faced a Republican opponent once. She ran unopposed for her Madison-area Assembly seat in 2012, 2014 and 2018. When she had an opponent in 2016, she won with 83% of the vote. She also ran unopposed for re-election to the Dane County Court in 2021 and for her seat on the District IV Court of Appeals in 2023. In a statement, Republican Party of Wisconsin Chair Brian Schimming noted that she's never had to win the votes of people outside of heavily Democratic Dane County. 'Chris Taylor's extreme partisan record has never been on full display outside of Dane County,' Schimming said. 'After 'liberal express lane' elections in Dane County and an appointment from Tony Evers, Radical Democrat Chris Taylor will now have to answer for her extremely partisan record in the Legislature and on the bench.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Liberal Wisconsin judge launches state Supreme Court bid
Wisconsin Court of Appeals Judge Chris Taylor announced Tuesday that she's launching a campaign to challenge conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley on the state Supreme Court next year. 'Justices on the Wisconsin Supreme Court must be fair, independent, and impartial. Justice Rebecca Bradley has proven that she's more interested in pushing her own right-wing political agenda than protecting Wisconsinites' rights and freedoms,' Taylor said in a statement. 'Extremism and partisanship have no place on our state's highest court,' she continued. 'Everyone who comes before the court deserves to be heard, respected, and treated equally – that's exactly what I'll do as a Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice.' Taylor has served on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals since 2023, and previously served as a judge in the Dane County Circuit Court. She served in the Wisconsin state Legislature from 2011-20 as a Democrat, and was a vocal supporter of abortion access, including testifying before the U.S. Senate about the Women's Health Protection Act. Taylor also spent time as a public policy director at Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin. In an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel published Tuesday, the liberal judge did not make a commitment around recusing herself on cases pertaining to Planned Parenthood in the event she won the seat next year. 'I would not categorically say because I worked for Planned Parenthood 15 years ago that I can't hear a case on reproductive health care,' Taylor told the Wisconsin news outlet. 'That would be like a judge who worked for a law firm 15 years ago who would say, 'Well I can never take a case from that law firm.'' The announcement comes more than a month after liberal Justice Susan Crawford won an open seat on the state Supreme Court, keeping the 4-3 liberal majority of the high court intact. Next year's race will not flip the Wisconsin court but provides an opportunity for liberals to expand their majority to a 5-2 edge. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
20-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Liberal Wisconsin judge launches state Supreme Court bid
Wisconsin Court of Appeals Judge Chris Taylor announced on Tuesday that she's launching a campaign to challenge conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley on the state Supreme Court next year. 'Justices on the Wisconsin Supreme Court must be fair, independent, and impartial. Justice Rebecca Bradley has proven that she's more interested in pushing her own right-wing political agenda than protecting Wisconsinites' rights and freedoms,' Taylor said in a statement. 'Extremism and partisanship have no place on our state's highest court,' she continued. 'Everyone who comes before the court deserves to be heard, respected, and treated equally – that's exactly what I'll do as a Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice.' Taylor has served on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals since 2023, and previously served as a judge in the Dane County Circuit Court. She served in the Wisconsin state legislature between 2011 and 2020 as a Democrat, and was a vocal supporter of abortion access, including testifying before the U.S. Senate over the Women's Health Protection Act. Taylor also spent time as a public policy director at Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin. In an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel published on Tuesday, the liberal judge did not make a commitment around recusing herself on cases pertaining to Planned Parenthood in the event she won the seat next year. 'I would not categorically say because I worked for Planned Parenthood 15 years ago that I can't hear a case on reproductive health care,' Taylor told the Wisconsin news outlet. 'That would be like a judge who worked for a law firm 15 years ago who would say, 'Well I can never take a case from that law firm.'' The announcement comes more than a month after liberal Justice Susan Crawford won an open seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, keeping the 4-3 liberal majority of the high court intact. Next year's race will not determine control of the Wisconsin court, but it could provide an opportunity for liberals to expand the court further to a 5-2 majority.
New York Times
02-04-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Elon Musk Made an Election About Him and Wisconsin Said, ‘No, Thanks'
Having purchased himself a presidential BFF last year, Elon Musk was pumped to effectively buy himself a state supreme court seat in Wisconsin. The voters had other ideas. Musk and his related groups dropped more than $20 million on boosting the conservative candidate, former state attorney general Brad Schimel. (Those $1 million sweepstakes giveaways were especially shameless.) Musk held a town hall/rally in Green Bay on Sunday, in which he urged folks to back Schimel, and he had pitched the race as 'one of those things that may not seem that it's going to affect the entire destiny of humanity, but I think it will.' In helping make this likely the most expensive court contest of all time, Musk also turned it into a referendum on himself and his role in the Trump administration. Schimel, bless his heart, could have been the greatest candidate in the history of democracy — he wasn't — and it wouldn't have mattered. This became all about Elon, with a dash of Donald Trump thrown in. Wisconsinites' response: No thanks, bruh. Despite Musk's hysterical warnings and cheesehead preening, Schimel's opponent, Susan Crawford, won by about 10 points, securing the court's liberal majority. Democrats, desperate for a win, are delighted. But Republicans should be quietly rejoicing as well — especially the members of Congress increasingly unsettled by the unelected billionaire clumsily hacking at government programs that Americans rely on. So many scared and angry constituents. So many fractious town halls. So much electoral peril. Musk has his money-drenched tentacles wrapped tightly around the president. To start disentangling him and moving him toward the door, Republican lawmakers need to make the case that he is hurting Trump's popularity — and threatening the G.O.P.'s unified control of Washington. Musk's expensive Wisconsin flop is big, red warning flag for Republican members to wave. They'd be wise to seize the moment while this failure is raw, missing no opportunity to remind the president what a political loser his buddy is turning out to be. Waiting will only make the situation worse. DOGE is just getting warmed up. No telling how much more damage Musk will do — to the nation and to the Republican Party — by the time a smattering of elections are decided this November. The mass layoffs of federal workers are already expected to damage Republicans' fortunes in the Virginia governor's race, seen as a key political bellwether. And by next year's midterms? Let's just say voters can go from adoring to bloodthirsty in a flash when folks start messing with their Social Security and Medicaid.
Fox News
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Wisconsin bans trans athletes from girls' sports, following Trump's executive order
The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) is the latest state sports organization to capitulate to President Donald Trump's recent executive order preventing trans athletes from competing in girls' sports. The WIAA announced Wednesday an update to its policies that stated only athletes "designated as females at birth" would be allowed to compete in girls' sports. "Today the WIAA Board of Control voted to update the organization's policy regarding student-athlete eligibility – affirming its compliance with federal directives that only students designated as females at birth will be allowed to participate in girls competitions," WIAA executive director Stephanie Hauser said in a statement. "Working in consultation with legal counsel, our Board updated this policy to ensure clarity is provided to our membership as they work to comply with new federal guidance from the White House." Wisconsin's new policy reflects that of the NCAA, as it still allows biological athletes to participate in girls' practices, but not official competitions. The state had allowed transgender athlete participation in girls' sports since 2013. Last April, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers vetoed a bill that would have banned high school transgender athletes from competing on girls' sports teams. Evers said in a press release when he vetoed that bill that he would veto any bill that "harms LGBTQ Wisconsinites' and kids' mental health." "I will veto any bill that makes Wisconsin a less safe, less inclusive, and less welcoming place for LGBTQ people and kids, and I will continue to keep my promise of using every power available to me to defend them, protect their rights, and keep them safe," Evers said. "States across this country may give way to radical policies targeting LGBTQ individuals and families and threatening LGBTQ folks' everyday lives and their ability to be safe, valued, supported, and welcome being who they are. As long as I am the governor of this great state, Wisconsin will not be among them." However, now the state has fallen in line with 25 others that already have laws in place to prevent trans athletes in girls' sports, and others that have updated their policies following Trump's executive order. Wisconsin voted for Trump in the 2016 and 2024 presidential elections, but has otherwise been known as a blue state in recent history. But now, Wisconsin is the latest state to agree to enforce Trump's policy on protecting girls and women from trans inclusion in sports. Opposition to trans inclusion has become more of a bipartisan issue over the last year. A recent New York Times/Ipsos survey found the vast majority of Americans, including a majority of Democrats, do not think transgender athletes should be permitted to compete in women's sports. Of the 2,128 people polled, 79% said biological males who identify as women should not be allowed to participate in women's sports. Of the 1,025 people who identified as Democrats or leaning Democratic, 67% said transgender athletes should not be allowed to compete with women. Still, some blue states have refused to comply with Trump's executive order, and continue to allow trans athletes to compete with girls. California, Minnesota and Maine are among the most prominent states that have openly defied Trump on the issue. But those states are at risk of losing federal funding, as per the policy of Trump's order. California and Minnesota are also currently under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education for potential Title IX violations by going against Trump's order as well. Trump's appointee for education secretary, Linda McMahon, made her stance clear on trans inclusion in women's and girls' sports during her confirmation hearing. "I do not believe that biological boys should be able to compete against girls in sports, and I think now that certainly not only have the people spoken, because that was something that Trump ran very heavily on, but I believe the court has spoken," McMahon said. "We are really back to what Title IX was originally established to do and that was to protect social discrimination. Women should feel safe in their locker rooms. They should feel safe in their spaces. They shouldn't have to be exposed to men undressing in front of them." Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
