Liberal Wisconsin Supreme Court justice says she won’t run again, setting up fight for control

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The longest-serving current Wisconsin Supreme Court justice and member of its liberal majority announced Thursday that she will not seek another term, setting up a high-stakes fight for control of the battleground state’s highest court.

Justice Ann Walsh Bradley’s decision comes as a surprise after she had previously said she would seek a fourth 10-year term. It shakes up the race on the liberal side as they seek to maintain the majority they just won last year.

At least two current liberal judges — Dane County Circuit Judge Susan Crawford and state Appeals Court Judge Chris Taylor — are considering getting in the race.

Former Republican Attorney General Brad Schimel, currently a Waukesha County judge, is the only announced candidate, having gotten in the race in November.

The primary is Feb. 18 and the general election is April 1, just under a year away.

Bradley, 73, was first elected to the court in 1995. Her victory made her the the first woman in Wisconsin history to join the court by winning an election, rather than through an appointment. Shirley Abrahamson, the first woman to serve on the court, was appointed in 1976 and won election two times before Bradley’s victory.

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