Former Republican Wisconsin Attorney General and Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Brad Schimel and Dane County Judge Susan Crawford went head-to-head Wednesday in the only debate ahead of the April 1 election which will decide the ideological balance of the court.
Hosted by WISN-TV, Wednesday’s event saw Crawford and Schimel discuss their positions on issues for the open court seat, including abortion rights, campaign funding, Act 10 and voter ID laws.
Here are four main takeaways from the debate.
Abortion rights remain center stage
In most Wisconsin elections, abortion is a defining factor of campaigns.
Abortion has been a critical campaign issue for Wisconsin Democrats after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, ending constitutionally protected abortion access nationwide. The decision triggered an 1849 Wisconsin law to go back into effect.
In September 2023, Dane County judge Diane Schlipper ruled the 19th century law does not ban abortion, leaving the liberal-controlled court to hear a case soon on whether the ban is law, and if the Wisconsin Constitution protects the right to an abortion.
Although Crawford said she could not weigh in on the validity of the 1849 abortion ban or if she believes there is a constitutional right to abortion because they are both pending cases, she referenced her past representing Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, where she said that women and their doctors should make their own decisions.
“I am proud of the work I did as a lawyer. I was standing up in court fighting for the rights of women and their doctors to make those critical decisions about health care,” Crawford said.
Crawford criticized Schimel for his stance on the issue, accusing him of supporting the 1849 law and saying there is not a constitutional right to abortion in Wisconsin.
Schimel responded by questioning why the court had not issued a decision for 1849 law and said the law would be resolved before he would take the bench.
He also contextualized his constitutional argument, saying that the word “abortion” does not appear in Wisconsin’s constitution, and if there is a constitutional right, someone would have to make a “creative” legal argument explaining where it is implied.
“I’ve been clear from the day I got in this race on my position on abortion,” Schimel said. “No judge or justice should be deciding this issue for the voters of Wisconsin. This issue belongs in their hands.”
Schmiel has an anti-abortion history, signing a 2012 legal paper from Wisconsin Right to Life and supporting the 1849 ban. Additionally, he has said that he doesn’t believe there is a constitutional right to abortion.
Praise and criticism over campaign funding and spending
Nearly $59 million has been spent on this race three weeks before the election, which breaks the previous record set by the 2023 state Supreme Court race, according to WisPolitics. This record spending has been largely shaped by national interests and wealthy donors.
Crawford criticized Schimel for his endorsement from Elon Musk. Musk has spent nearly $6.2 million on canvassing to back Schimel and $6 million from his Building America’s Future PAC, according to WisPolitics. Musk also sent out flyers claiming Schimel would support President Donald Trump.
“[Musk] has basically taken over Brad Schimel’s campaign,” Crawford said. “He’s got paid canvassers who are knocking on doors handing out flyers that say support the Trump agenda, put Brad Schimel on the Supreme Court.”
Schimel responded by saying he does not have “control” over outside donors, turning to the importance of the endorsement of Wisconsinites. He also criticized Crawford for her endorsement from George Soros, who donated $1 million to Democrats during this campaign cycle, according to WisPolitics.
Act 10
In 2011, former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker signed Act 10 which eliminated collective bargaining for most public employees and is likely to appear before the new court. Both candidates have previous ties to Act 10 — Crawford represented teachers who challenged a provision of the law, and Schimel was attorney general under Walker after it passed and defended the law.
Crawford said she would most likely recuse herself if the same provision she was previously involved in was challenged. Although not directly asked, Schimel did not say he would recuse and doubled down on his defense.
“I’ve said I would have defended the law when I was attorney general. Of course, I did. My job as attorney general was to defend Wisconsin law, not pick and choose which laws I like or didn’t like,” Schimel said.
When asked about recusal — Justice Brian Hagedorn recently recused himself from the Act 10 case since he used to serve as chief legal counsel for Walker — Schimel said it was up to the justice.
“The only person who can decide whether a Supreme Court justice should recuse from a case is that Supreme court justice,” Schimel said.
When asked about Protasiewicz’s recent decision not to recuse herself from this case despite protesting the law in 2011, Crawford agreed with Schimel that only the justice can decide if they can be “fair and impartial.”
Voter ID laws
Crawford previously represented the League of Women Voters challenging strict voter ID laws.
“There were many registered voters in Wisconsin who were unable to vote because they simply could not obtain the ID that they needed. People who are disabled, elderly people, people who were born in rural communities in poverty that never were issued a birth certificate, that’s who we were fighting for,” Crawford said.
Crawford is “proud” of this lawsuit, in which the then conservative-leaning state Supreme Court found that requiring Wisconsinites to pay for an ID was essentially a poll tax and ordered the administration to enforce changes making IDs more accessible and affordable.
Crawford said she wouldn’t say how she would vote on the amendment because she does not find it “appropriate” for a judge to influence voters in this way.
Schimel said he would vote yes to this amendment, as he deems voter credibility laws to be important due to the risk of voter fraud.
Crawford has served as a Dane County judge since 2018. She was previously a prosecutor for the state attorney general’s office and chief legal counsel to former Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle. Schimel, a Waukesha County judge, also previously served as Republican attorney general under the Walker administration.
The winner of the April 1 election will replace retiring Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, who has served on the court for 30 years — the current longest serving member.
Clara Strecker is a copy chief for The Daily Cardinal. She also covers state news.
