Chris Taylor Wins Wisconsin Supreme Court Seat in Nonpartisan Election

By Khaya Himmelman

*April 7, 2026 | 9:46 p.m. ET*

*Updated April 7, 2026 | 10:11 p.m. ET*

Chris Taylor defeated Maria Lazar in Wisconsin's nonpartisan Supreme Court election, according to the Associated Press. With 95% of votes counted Wednesday morning, Taylor held 60.1% to Lazar's 39.8%, per the New York Times election tracker.

The result marks the fourth consecutive victory for candidates receiving support from Democratic-aligned groups and donors in recent state Supreme Court races.

Pre-election polls indicated Taylor maintained a lead over Lazar in the months leading up to the vote. Taylor also held a significant advantage in fundraising and advertising spending during the campaign. Those factors, along with double-digit margins for similar candidates in the prior three races, contributed to expectations among Democratic-aligned observers ahead of the April 7 election. By shortly after 10 p.m. on election night, with 61% of votes tallied, Taylor led by about 20 percentage points.

In the campaign's final week, Taylor, an appeals court judge and former state legislator who previously worked at Planned Parenthood, traveled across the state. She received an endorsement from former President Barack Obama and support from former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who campaigned on her behalf. Taylor emphasized her positions supporting reproductive rights and opposing recent reductions in state safety net programs.

Lazar, also an appeals court judge who served in the administration of former Gov. Scott Walker (R), campaigned against abortion rights. She sought to highlight aspects of Taylor's prior political experience, though Lazar had held elected office herself.

Wisconsin Supreme Court elections are officially nonpartisan but often draw substantial funding and national interest due to the court's role in key matters. These include state-level redistricting, election administration and potential disputes, such as those that could arise in the 2028 presidential election.

Unlike the 2023 and 2025 races, which influenced the court's ideological balance, this election occurred after prior results had already established a majority of justices aligned with liberal positions, set to continue through 2028.

In 2023, voters elected Justice Janet Protasiewicz, whose victory shifted the court from a 4-3 conservative majority to a 4-3 liberal-aligned majority. In 2025, Justice Susan Crawford prevailed over her opponent, extending that ideological majority for three more years.

Taylor's win results in a 5-2 majority of justices aligned with liberal positions.

The court is positioned to address ongoing disputes, including those over legislative and congressional district maps. Last summer, it declined to hear a direct challenge to the state's congressional maps, which have been described as favoring Republicans. Instead, following a 2011 state law, the court appointed a three-judge panel to consider two related cases. One, filed by Democratic voters, contends the maps discriminate against their party. The other, brought by Wisconsin Business Leaders for Democracy, argues the maps constitute an anti-competitive gerrymander.

Rulings from the panel are expected and could be appealed to the state Supreme Court. Howard Schweber, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, predicted to Talking Points Memo that the panels are likely to deem the current districts unconstitutional. "I think it is pretty much certain that each of the panels will rule the current districts to be an unconstitutional gerrymander," Schweber said. "The judicial panels are empowered to adopt new maps, which can then be appealed to the state Supreme Court — but they do not have to take the case. So one very plausible outcome is that the panels produce a set of maps and the Supreme Court simply lets them stand."

Separately, on March 31, 2026, a three-judge federal panel dismissed a challenge to the congressional maps. The panel ruled it lacked authority to override the Wisconsin Supreme Court's 2022 decision on those maps.

The court has also addressed election administration issues in recent years. It has considered challenges involving ballot drop boxes and a proposed bill to broaden who can file election-related lawsuits. Future cases, according to reporting from Votebeat, may involve whether voters with disabilities can use electronic ballots and whether the Wisconsin Elections Commission can require audits of registered voters' citizenship status.

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