Election day approaches on a race defined by partisan attacks and spending

As voters prepare to cast ballots in Tuesday’s state Supreme Court election, Milwaukee County Judge Rebecca Dallet and Sauk County Judge Michael Screnock faced off in a debate for the last time, yet again charging each other with partisanship unfit for the state bench.

Though the race and institution are ostensibly nonpartisan, the ideological preferences implicit in judicial decisions often invite intervention by partisan groups and other interests.

Dallet has been backed by Democratic legislators and liberal groups, while Screnock has been embraced by state conservatives and groups like Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, the largest business lobby in the state, which has spent over $1 million on the candidate’s behalf.

“People don’t just give money away — they have an expectation,” Dallet said. “There is some investment that these groups are making in you in order to get you on the court so you’ll do their bidding.”

As a part of his work for the law firm Michael, Best & Friedrich, Screnock defended Gov. Scott Walker’s controversial Act 10 legislation in court, as well as played a role in the team that advised Republican leaders in their partisan redistricting effort following the last U.S. Census.

Dallet has also blasted Screnock for his endorsement and support from the National Rifle Association, which received magnified scrutiny from liberals as it came the day before a deadly school shooting in Parkland, Fla.

Screnock, however, has denied ever deciding a case based on partisan ideology, and instead accused Dallet of being an “activist judge” for pitching herself as the candidate with the values most aligned with Wisconsin on issues like environmental protection, women’s healthcare and public school support.

“I don’t know why in the context of a candidacy for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, you would think that the voters should care or should know what your values are — what political issues you hold dear — unless you actually intended to allow them to influence the decisions you would make from the bench,” Screnock said.

Dallet has received endorsements and financial support from Democratic groups, including $140,000 from the National Democratic Redistricting Campaign, led by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.

Walker appointed Screnock to the Sauk County bench in 2015, while Dallet has been twice elected in Milwaukee County.

Both candidates seek to replace conservative Justice Michael Gableman, who declined to seek a second ten-year term.

The court’s current 5-2 conservative majority remains safe regardless of the April 3 election results, but liberals hope to build momentum by replacing Gableman.