![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/260407_CHRISTAYLOR05-scaled.jpg\")
Judge Chris Taylor begins her acceptance speech Tuesday, April 7, 2026, at the Madison Concourse Hotel in Madison, Wis. Angela Major\/WPR<\/p>\nThe Wisconsin Supreme Court\u2019s liberal majority will grow after state Appeals Judge Chris Taylor was elected to a 10-year term Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Her victory over her conservative opponent, Appeals Judge Maria Lazar, was declared by the Associated Press at 8:36 p.m. All results are unofficial until they\u2019re certified in coming weeks.<\/p>\n
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Addressing supporters at a watch party in downtown Madison less than an hour after the race was called Tuesday night, Taylor said her victory was about democracy.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce again, Wisconsin, we showed the entire nation that we believe that the people should be at the center of government and the priority of our judiciary,\u201d she told the crowd.<\/p>\n
Judge Chris Taylor begins her acceptance speech Tuesday, April 7, 2026, at the Madison Concourse Hotel in Madison, Wis. Angela Major\/WPR<\/p>\n
Taylor\u2019s victory means that liberals will expand their majority to 5-2, effectively securing their ideological advantage until at least 2030. In recent years, the high court has handed down major decisions expanding abortion rights and overturning Republican-drawn legislative maps, and is expected to weigh in on important voting rights and labor cases.<\/p>\n
But regardless of the night\u2019s outcome, liberals would have held on to their 4-3 majority \u2014 first established with the high-profile election of Justice Janet Protasiewicz<\/a> in 2023, and defended last year, when Justice Susan Crawford<\/a> emerged victorious from the most expensive court race in American history.<\/p>\n In the face of lower stakes, Taylor\u2019s campaign received comparatively less fanfare. Fundraising<\/a>, early voting<\/a> and turnout numbers were much lower than in recent years. <\/p>\n But the financial advantage was nonetheless Taylor\u2019s, as her campaign raised much more than Lazar, and outspent Lazar 6-to-1<\/a>.<\/p>\n Taylor described her campaign as one about energizing ordinary Wisconsinites.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are hungry for a government that works for them,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople are hungry for a judiciary that \u2026 protects our rights, that affords all Wisconsinites equal justice under the law.\u201d<\/p>\n And without naming President Donald Trump, she framed her win in the context of national politics.<\/p>\n \u201cPolitics has no place in the judiciary, and the judiciary is not a rubber stamp for any party, group or branch of government \u2014 including the federal government,\u201d she said to cheers.<\/p>\n Taylor\u2019s campaign was seemingly on sure footing from the moment she announced her candidacy. She got into the race in May<\/a> and, within weeks, had earned the endorsement of the four sitting liberal justices, insulating her from any challenge from the left. Those justices joined Taylor at her victory party Tuesday night.<\/p>\n By contrast, Lazar was a relative latecomer to the race. She emerged as the conservative contender<\/a> in October, after conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley announced<\/a> that she would not run for reelection, setting up a surprise open race.<\/p>\n Lazar\u2019s election night party was more subdued, with reporters outnumbering around 30 supporters who talked quietly in the ballroom of the Ingleside Hotel in Pewaukee while country music played softly from overhead speakers. <\/p>\n At around 9:30 p.m., Lazar walked in and moved from supporter to supporter, shaking hands and hugging them. She could be heard saying \u201cdon\u2019t be sad\u201d and that \u201cwhen a door closes, a window opens.\u201d She took the stage and told the group she\u2019d conceded the race to Taylor.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to tell you that I could not have been more honored, more proud, more pleased, more humbled to be your candidate in this race,\u201d said Lazar. \u201cAnd I want to tell you not to fret, not to be upset, not to be sad. We can do that a little bit later.\u201d<\/p>\n Lazar said she\u2019s proud to have run her race with transparency, integrity and honesty.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis has been an uphill battle,\u201d said Lazar. \u201cBut I don\u2019t think that I\u2019ve run this race for no purpose. \u2026 We will keep fighting to put judges \u2014 good, talented judges \u2014 with experience on the bench, and we will not take the status quo.\u201d<\/p>\n Within the hour, the Ingleside\u2019s ballroom was empty save for three supporters and more than a dozen reporters.<\/p>\n Things won\u2019t get easier for conservatives any time soon. They\u2019ll be on defense again in the 2027 election, when there will be another open race for the seat being vacated by conservative Justice Annette Ziegler<\/a>. Conservatives would have to win that race, along with the 2028 and 2029 Supreme Court elections, in order to have a shot at flipping the court in 2030.<\/p>\n The Democratic Party of Wisconsin described Taylor\u2019s victory as an \u201cindictment\u201d of Trump and of U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, the GOP candidate for governor.<\/p>\n \u201cOur state Supreme Court has repeatedly shown it is the last line of defense against the federal government\u2019s unconstitutional overreach, and with tonight\u2019s election, we have secured a pro-freedom, pro-democracy majority on the Court through 2030,\u201d read the statement from Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Devin Remiker.<\/p>\n The Republican Party of Wisconsin, by contrast, issued a terse statement thanking Lazar for her candidacy.<\/p>\n \u201cMaria ran an honorable campaign focused on impartial justice, following the rule of law, and rejecting judicial activism,\u201d said Chairman Brian Schimming. \u201cWe must stay united and continue fighting for our Conservative values.\u201d<\/p>\n Although Wisconsin\u2019s Supreme Court is officially nonpartisan, the justices\u2019 ideological approach is no secret, in practice or on the campaign trail. In Taylor\u2019s case, her politics were well known, having previously served as a Democratic member of the state Assembly.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/260407_CHRISTAYLOR13-scaled.jpg\")
Attendees cheer as Judge Chris Taylor speaks at her election night event Tuesday, April 7, 2026, at the Madison Concourse Hotel in Madison, Wis. Angela Major\/WPR<\/p>\n![\"Four](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/260407_CHRISTAYLOR04-scaled.jpg\")
Judge Chris Taylor, right, is greeted by Wisconsin Supreme Court justices during her election night event Tuesday, April 7, 2026, at the Madison Concourse Hotel in Madison, Wis. Angela Major\/WPR<\/p>\n![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_3624-scaled.jpg\")
Conservative Judge Maria Lazar, left, hugs a supporter at her election night party at the Ingleside Hotel in Pewaukee on April 7, 2026. Lazar lost her Wisconsin Supreme Court race to liberal Judge Chris Taylor.Rich Kremer\/WPR<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/260407_CHRISTAYLOR03-scaled.jpg\")
Workers prepare a ballroom for Judge Chris Taylor\u2019s election night party Tuesday, April 7, 2026, at the Madison Concourse Hotel in Madison, Wis. Angela Major\/WPR<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/260407_CHRISTAYLOR08-scaled.jpg\")
Attendees celebrate as Judge Chris Taylor takes the stage at her election night event Tuesday, April 7, 2026, at the Madison Concourse Hotel in Madison, Wis. Angela Major\/WPR<\/p>\n