Wisconsin’s longest-serving liberal Supreme Court member announced her retirement on Wednesday, risking the liberal justices’ majority rule on the court. 

Justice Ann Walsh Bradley was first elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 1995 — marking her as the first female elected to the state’s highest court. She opted against running for reelection in 2025 due to the fact that she’ll be 85 by the end of another term in court. 

“My decision has not come lightly,” Bradley said in her statement. “It is made after careful consideration and reflection. I know I can do the job and do it well. I know I can win reelection, should I run. But, it’s just time to pass the torch, bringing fresh perspectives to the court.”

Bradley’s retirement comes just a year after voters elected Janet Protasiewicz to the court, giving liberals a 4-3 majority for the first time in 15 years. That election was the most expensive judicial race in U.S. history, with over $50 million spent.

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In December, the court struck down election maps for gerrymandering in favor of conservatives. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments on reversing conservative justices’ 2022 ban on voting drop boxes that voters used in 2020. The state also has a law similar to the one the Arizona Supreme Court upheld earlier this week, making abortion illegal in all cases except to save the life of the mother, which has been appealed to the state’s high court. 

So far, Bradley’s retirement announcement has led to a 2025 race announcement by suburban Milwaukee judge and former state Attorney General Brad Schimel. If conservatives don’t win the seat in 2025, they won’t have a chance to gain control of the court until 2028.