Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Janet Protasiewicz's victory for a seat on the state's Supreme Court is raising Democrats' hopes of success when it comes to latching onto the issue of abortion in 2024.
Protasiewicz defeated former state Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly by 11 points, a surprisingly large margin that will secure a liberal majority on the court for the first time in 15 years.
The fate of the state's 174-year-old abortion ban — which is expected to come before the court — played an outsize factor in the race, as well as the opportunity for liberals to undo decades of GOP gerrymandering.
"The results send a clear message: Wisconsinites are committed to reproductive freedom and upholding our state's proud tradition of civic engagement," said Steven Webb II, executive director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin.
Protasiewicz leaned into the issues and was notably outspoken on her support for abortion rights. Abortion rights groups backed her while anti-abortion rights groups supported Kelly.
While the Wisconsin race was an unofficial referendum on the topic, the issue was also a major contributing factor in Democratic turnout during the November midterm election.
Abortion was on the ballot in six states last year, and each one voted in favor of making sure the procedure is protected in some way. Those results showed access to abortion was a key issue for voters, and advocates are looking to replicate that success in 2024.
Polls of voters from November showed the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade last June had a significant impact on which candidates people voted for.
In November, Republicans and anti-abortion groups acknowledged their losses and said candidates needed to embrace abortion messaging just as much as Democrats if they were going to counter energized Democratic turnout.
On Wednesday, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel sounded a similar tone.
"When you're losing by 10 points, there is a messaging issue, and abortion is still an issue," she said in an interview on Fox News. "I'm a suburban woman, I know this is an issue. This is not an issue that's going away for our party in a post-Dobbs world."
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