Record-breaking race for state Supreme Court

Protasiewicz received nearly $12.4 million to Kelly's $2.2 million between Feb. 7 and March 20, with just over $8 million in cash coming from the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.

Scott Presler planned several “stop the steal” rallies, was on the Capitol grounds the day of the insurrection, and described it as “the largest civil rights protest in American history."

The Constitution guarantees criminal defendants the right to an attorney. Yet Protasiewicz's ad suggests attorneys who fulfill this constitutional role are unfit for the state's highest court.

If negative political ads didn't motivate voters, it's unlikely candidates and their allies would be spending millions of dollars clogging up our screens with them.

The candidates will face off April 4 to replace a retiring conservative Wisconsin Supreme Court justice — an election that could tilt the court's balance.

Janet Protasiewicz said she favors the court deliberating its administrative rules in public, but Daniel Kelly said such a policy promotes grandstanding instead of efficiency.

"This is a one-time thing for me," Protasiewicz said about her upcoming election against conservative candidate Dan Kelly, adding that she is 60 years old.

Dan Kelly, a former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice, faces Democratic-backed Janet Protasiewicz, a Milwaukee County judge, on April 4.

Some conservatives doubt that Kelly's broad appeals to the Constitution is a winning campaign strategy.

Janet Protasiewicz said she would recuse herself from cases involving the Democratic Party. Dan Kelly would not make a similar pledge regarding cases involving the GOP.

Unlike possibly ever before, voters in April will not only be choosing a Wisconsin Supreme Court justice but effectively deciding the outcome of a court case.