The 2019 Wisconsin Supreme Court election was held on Tuesday, April 2, 2019, to elect a justice to the Wisconsin Supreme Court for a ten-year term. The incumbent justice, Shirley Abrahamson, retired after 43 years on the court, the longest in the history of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Although the Wisconsin Supreme Court justices are considered nonpartisan, Abrahamson identified as a liberal and voted with the liberal 3–4 minority on the court. Two colleagues on District II of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals faced off in the general election with judge Brian Hagedorn narrowly defeating Chief judge Lisa Neubauer, shifting the ideology of the court towards conservatives.

This is the most recent time that a conservative candidate has won election to the court. It is also the only contested Supreme Court election held since 2016 that did not see a liberal candidate win at least 55% of the vote against a conservative candidate; that was the outcome of the 2018, 2020, 2023, 2025, and 2026 elections.

Background

The 2018 and 2019 elections are the fifth instance in the court's history in which two consecutive elections were for open seats (without an incumbent running).

There was no primary held, because only two candidates ran. Had a third candidate qualified for the ballot, a primary would have been held. It is rare for contested Wisconsin Supreme Court races to be held without the need for a primary, with this being the first such instance since 1978, and the last until 2025.

Candidates There was no Supreme Court primary in 2019, as only two candidates ran for the seat.

Declared

Brian Hagedorn, Wisconsin Court of Appeals judge Lisa Neubauer, chief judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals

Declined Shirley Abrahamson, incumbent Supreme Court justice Susan Happ, Jefferson County district attorney, Democratic nominee for Wisconsin attorney general in 2014 Maria Lazar, judge of the Waukesha County Circuit Court (endorsed Hagedorn)

General election Campaign During the campaign, Neubauer ran on her qualifications, often highlighting the endorsement of over 300 judges across the state. Her campaign also opted against direct donations and resources from the state Democratic party.

Hagedorn's campaign was hit early on by scandals involving his blog writings when he was a law student. Examples of Hagedorn's writings include comparing homosexuality to bestiality, referring to Planned Parenthood as a “wicked organization more committed to killing babies than helping women.” In response to critiques on his past blog posts, Hagedorn stated it was an attack on his Christian evangelical faith, and that he sets aside his personal beliefs on the bench. Hagedorn was also under fire for serving on the board of Augustine Academy, a Christian school, that bans its faculty, students, and student's parents from being in same-sex relationships. This led to some organizations that traditionally support the conservative candidate in Wisconsin Supreme Court elections to sit out, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Wisconsin Realtor's Association, which rescinded their endorsement.

During the debates in March, both candidates sought to characterize the other as the partisan candidate. Neubauer focused on Hagedorn's past blog writings and his previous work as Governor Scott Walker's legal counsel, while Hagedorn tied Neubauer to incumbent Justice Shirley Abrahamson, whom he viewed as a biased jurist.

Throughout the campaign, Neubauer held a spending and fundraising advantage, and at one point had outspent Hagedorn 14-to-1. During the last week of the campaign in March, the Republican State Leadership Committee spent over $1 million in ads supporting Hagedorn, portraying Hagedorn as a victim of smears of similar nature to Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his contentious hearings. The RSLC specifically targeted low-propensity Trump voters during their ad campaign.

On election day, Hagedorn emerged as the top vote getter, with a 6,000 vote lead over Neubauer. Hagedorn declared victory the following day, describing his lead as insurmountable. Neubauer conceded the race one week later on April 10. Hagedorn's victory was seen as an upset victory, in part due to his scandals during the campaign and Neubauer's spending advantage. Wisconsin Republican Party Executive Director Mark Jefferson touted Hagedorn's victory as sending, "[a] message to all of America that we're ready to keep Wisconsin red as we turn our attention to mobilizing for 2020 and re-electing President Trump."

Endorsements

Debates 2019 Wisconsin Supreme Court election debates Date Host Moderators Link Candidates Participant   Absent   Non-invitee   Invitee Withdrawn Hagedorn Neubauer 1 March 15, 2019 WISC-TVState Bar of WisconsinWisPolitics Eric Franke YouTube 2 March 19, 2019 Milwaukee Bar AssociationWisconsinEye Steve Walters WisEye 3 March 26, 2019 WISN-TVMarquette University Law School Mike Gousha YouTube

Fundraising Outside spending totaled around $4.3 million, with $2.7 million in favor of Neubauer and $1.6 million in favor of Hagedorn.

Campaign finance reports as of June 30, 2019CandidateRaisedSpentCash on handBrian Hagedorn $1,723,399 $1,681,773 $42,075Lisa Neubauer $2,016,260 $2,013,196 $5,070Source: WI Ethics Commission

Results

By congressional district District Hagedorn Neubauer Representative 58.4% 41.6%Bryan Steil 25.5% 74.5%Mark Pocan 47.2% 52.8%Ron Kind 29.8% 70.2%Gwen Moore 64.6% 35.4%Jim Sensenbrenner 59.2% 40.8%Glenn Grothman 57.4% 42.6%Sean Duffy 57.3% 42.7%Mike Gallagher

Notes

See also 2019 Wisconsin elections

References