Former Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel launched his campaign Thursday for a seat on the state Supreme Court, a year and a half before the 2025 election, as the Republicans hope to wrest back control of the court.
The Republican's early entry into the race allows him to fundraise and signals to others considering a similar run to step aside.
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Schimel is seeking to unseat liberal Justice Ann Bradley, who has already announced she plans on seeking a fourth term in office. Over the years, Bradley, 73, has been a consistent vote in the court's liberal bloc, which swung to a 4-3 majority after Justice Janet Protasiewicz beat former state Supreme Court Justice Dan Kelly, a conservative, in a special election this year.
"There is no check on this new liberal Supreme Court majority," Schimel, a current Waukesha County Circuit judge, said during a speech announcing his campaign. "They have the final say in interpreting the Wisconsin Constitution and Wisconsin laws. The only check on them is to take back the majority by winning in 2025."
Schimel made his announcement at the Weldall Manufacturing facility in Waukesha against the backdrop of a large American flag that hung from a 100-ton crane above the podium. The 58-year-old started the evening by playing Michael Jackson and Santana covers with his band before turning to politics.
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Schimel has been an outspoken critic of abortion, a key issue in the race won by Protasiewicz, who championed abortion rights. When Schimel was Waukesha County's district attorney, he endorsed a Wisconsin Right to Life legal white paper that advocated an abortion ban except to save the mother's life. A challenge to that ban is expected to come before the state Supreme Court.
Another high-stakes challenge is the state's political maps, which Democrats have argued carves up legislative districts in such an unfair way that they have cemented a GOP grip on state politics. Oral arguments in that case took place in November. Schimel has defended the Republican-drawn maps.
Schimel spent 25 years as a Waukesha County prosecutor. He served one term as the state's attorney general but lost his reelection bid in 2018 to Democratic rival Josh Kaul.
Following Schimel's campaign announcement Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Ben Walker said the judge "doesn't deserve a promotion to our state's highest court."
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"Wisconsinites rejected Brad Schimel after a single term as attorney general because his extreme politics and inept mismanagement became too great to ignore, with thousands of rape kits left untested at the State Crime Lab and millions of dollars wasted on partisan efforts to suppress voting rights and push new restrictions on abortion access," Walker said.
The race to unseat Bradley could break spending records. Protasiewicz's race was the most expensive state judicial election in U.S. history, with millions of dollars coming in from outside groups.