Conservative Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley created a stir with her Friday announcement that she will not seek a new term after hers ends in 2026.
Bradley is one of three conservative justices in the state, with the Supreme Court’s other four seats held by liberal justices. Her decision creates an open seat that will be filled next April. If a liberal wins the seat, the court would stand at a 5-2 liberal majority.
Conservatives have faced an uphill battle for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, with the last two elections going to liberal candidates. Spending on those campaigns set national records.
Billionaire Elon Musk put significant financial support behind the conservative candidate in one of those elections earlier this year, but the liberal candidate prevailed.
The Wisconsin Examiner reported that Bradley presented a warning to conservatives in her announcement, “For years I have warned that under the control of judicial activists, the court will make itself more powerful than the Legislature, more powerful than the governor,” she said.
“That warning went unheeded,” she continued, “and Wisconsin has seen only the beginning of what is an alarming shift from thoughtful, principled judicial service toward bitter partisanship, personal attacks, and political gamesmanship that have no place in court.” Bradley told the state’s conservatives that they need to take stock of their “failures, identify the problem, and fix it.”
Some judicial analysts rate Bradley as the state’s most conservative justice. The Examiner reported that Bradley has been active with the conservative Federalist Society and is also rumored to have an eye on a federal judgeship.
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