In another election underscoring the enthusiasm gap between Democratic and Republican voters, Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Rebecca Dallet handily defeated her conservative opponent Sauk County Judge Michael Screnock in the race for Wisconsin Supreme Court.
With 96 percent of the vote in, Dallet had 56 percent of the vote to Screnock’s 44 percent. Her victory came largely on the strength of the Democratic vote in Dane County which voted an astounding 80 percent for the liberal candidate.
Meanwhile, Screnock underperformed in the critical WOW counties for Republicans: Waukesha, Ozaukee and Washington. While turnout in those counties kept up with Dane County, the conservative percentage of the vote did not keep up.
After her victory, Dallet told the Associated Press, “people are tired of what’s been going on in our state in terms of the money coming in to buy these elections and people spoke out tonight.”
Dallet’s statement was particularly ironic after Democrats made the campaign a national contest with former Attorney General Eric Holder and New Jersey Senator Cory Booker campaigning for Dallet. In addition, Dallet was criticized for saying at a fundraiser in San Francisco that their values were Wisconsin values that the Badger state had lost.
Dallet echoed that statement in an email to supporters:
I jumped into this race because I wanted to serve our state in a bigger way; I wanted to stand up for the values I believe we’ve strayed from; and I wanted to show my daughters that when it comes to our home, it’s important to fight with everything we have.
It was the first time liberals won an open seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court since 1995. Dallet’s victory reduces the conservative majority from 5-2 to 4-3.
Dallet’s victory came the same day as Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce Issues Mobilization Council (WMC-IMC) filed a complaint with the Wisconsin Judicial Commission alleging the candidate violated the state Code of Judicial Conduct by lying three times in her final ad. In the ad, Dallet accused Screnock of lying in an ad about the case involving sex offender Donald Skenandore even though that ad was produced by WMC-IMC. Dallet also claimed that the facts of the case were misrepresented even though the WMC-IMC ad was factually correct.
Screnock issued the following statement after his loss on Tuesday:
“I am proud to have run a campaign that remained focused on my judicial philosophy and my experience in spite of tremendous outside influence from liberal special interest groups that were willing to say and spend anything to elect their preferred candidate to the bench. This campaign was never about me or my desire to be a Supreme Court Justice. It was about serving the people of Wisconsin by upholding the rule of law and respecting the Constitution and the separation of powers. I wish Judge Dallet well, and I sincerely hope she serves us well on the court.”
Dallet’s term on the Wisconsin Supreme Court begins in August and lasts ten years. The next Wisconsin Supreme Court election will be in 2019 when Justice Shirley Abrahamson’s term ends. She will be 85 years old but it is unknown if she will run for re-election at this time.
The other statewide result from Tuesday’s election was the defeat of a referendum to eliminate the office of the state treasurer. The constitutional amendment to eliminate the largely powerless elected office failed 61 percent to 39 percent.
The amendment failed after an organized effort emerged to save the office, complete with television ads to save the office that two consecutive state treasurers had pledged to eliminate in their election campaigns. The current treasurer Matt Adamczyk had previously announced he was running for state Assembly in the fall after the treasurer position was eliminated.
On Tuesday, Adamczyk said the future duties of the state treasurer are up for the legislature to decide.
After Tuesday’s election results, Governor Scott Walker sent out a series of Tweets warning of a Democratic wave in the fall:
Tonight’s results show we are at risk of a #BlueWave in WI. The Far Left is driven by anger & hatred — we must counter it with optimism & organization. Let’s share our positive story with voters & win in November.
— Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) April 4, 2018
Big government special interests flooded Wisconsin with distorted facts & misinformation. Next, they’ll target me and work to undo our bold reforms. We need to keep moving #WIForward & make sure a #BlueWave of outside special interest money doesn’t take us backward.
— Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) April 4, 2018
Wisconsin is working with RECORD-LOW unemployment thanks to our reforms, but the risk of a #BlueWave puts everything in jeopardy – balanced budgets, collective bargaining reforms, $8B in tax cuts, welfare reform & more.
— Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) April 4, 2018
We have a positive story to tell & we need conservatives to take action and stop a #BlueWave by getting out there and telling it. Volunteer to share our optimistic plan for the future here: https://t.co/PLjD3aaaU5
— Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) April 4, 2018
If you support our bold efforts to help families and reform government, I need your help right now. CHIP IN $5 and help us stand against the flood of outside money that is headed our way: https://t.co/sEXb5qCLyZ
— Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) April 4, 2018
