TO THE POLLS: Voters are heading to the polls in battleground Wisconsin today for a state Supreme Court race that could extend liberal control of the court for years to come.
Wisconsin Appeals Court Judge Chris Taylor, who is backed by Democrats, is favored heading into Election Day against conservative state Appeals Court Judge Maria Lazar, who is supported by Republicans. The race for retiring conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley’s seat is officially nonpartisan but has in effect been a partisan battle, as has been typical for court races in the state.
Liberals currently hold a 4-3 majority on the court, but they’re eyeing a pickup opportunity that would expand it to a 5-2 advantage. The race has drawn considerably less attention than the contest for an open seat last year, as that election determined who would hold a majority.
The president has also stayed out of the race, holding off from endorsing Lazar, unlike last year, when he was deeply involved in promoting the conservative candidate. Billionaire Elon Musk also poured millions of dollars into last year’s race to back the conservative, an unsuccessful effort that he is not replicating this time.
But the race is still considered critical, as a win by Taylor could ensure liberal control of the court through the remainder of the decade. And limited polling points to Taylor holding the edge.
Taylor’s campaign has also outraised her opponent by a roughly 5-to-1 margin. Some Republican operatives have criticized Lazar’s campaign for not doing enough to appeal to the GOP base, The Hill’s Caroline Vakil reports.
Political observers will be looking to the outcome of the race as another indicator of what may be to come for the midterms.
Meanwhile, voters in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District are also heading to the polls in a runoff to fill the seat vacated by former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). Republican Clay Fuller is favored to win in the deeply red district against Democrat Shawn Harris, but Democrats will be hoping to improve on their 2024 performance as another sign of boosted momentum heading into November.
▪ The Hill: What to know about Tuesday’s Wisconsin, Georgia elections.
▪ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Why early voting is lagging past court elections.
ON YOUR MARKS: Big spending on the midterm election cycle is quickly getting underway as two major campaign groups are revealing some of their plans.
The Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC associated with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) that works to elect Republicans to the Senate, announced a whopping $342 million investment across eight states in its largest-ever ad buy.
The group is making a push to go on offense for key seats in Michigan, Georgia and New Hampshire while defending GOP-held seats in Ohio, North Carolina, Maine, Iowa and Alaska.
The largest ad buy amounts are $79 million in Ohio, where Sen. Jon Husted (R) is seeking to fend off a challenge from former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D), and $71 million in North Carolina, as former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley faces former Gov. Roy Cooper (D).
Republicans are seeking to defend their 53-47 majority in the upper chamber as Democrats hope to win back control.
A Democratic group responsible for growing the party’s majorities in state legislatures announced its first slate of target candidates Monday.
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee said it would back candidates in key local races in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Arizona, Georgia, Texas and Iowa. The group said it plans to get involved in at least 500 races, including 300 for Republican-held seats.
The announcement comes after a string of victories for Democrats in state legislative races, outperforming their 2024 results.
Election Day is less than seven months away. Democrats are favored to take the House and expressing increasing optimism about winning Senate control as Trump’s approval ratings sink and economic anxiety rises.
▪ Politico: Republicans losing clout in statehouses.
PATH CLEARED: Trump ally Steve Bannon appears set to have his conviction for contempt of Congress thrown out after the U.S. Supreme Court sent the case back to a lower court judge, who is expected to dismiss it.
The justices declined Tuesday to hear arguments in Bannon’s appeal of his 2022 conviction for refusing to follow a subpoena from a House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. The court instead granted his petition to vacate a lower court’s holding and send it back for review.
The conviction will likely be erased there, as the Department of Justice (DOJ) moved in February to dismiss the two-count indictment against Bannon that was filed nearly five years ago. A federal jury in Washington, D.C., found Bannon guilty on both counts for failing to appear for a deposition before the committee and refusing to hand over subpoenaed documents.
Bannon was sentenced to four months in prison and served his time during 2024.
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro also served a four-month sentence for his conviction on the same charges as Bannon’s. Navarro is still appealing the case, though the DOJ has said it won’t defend the conviction.
▪ The Hill: Dem demands information on DOJ settlement with Michael Flynn.
▪ The Hill: Case against former Cincinnati official likely to be dismissed.
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