Unless you’re a politically plugged-in Wisconsinite, you probably haven’t spent a lot of time thinking about the Badger State’s current Supreme Court race. But an unlikely resistance heroine has recently emerged there in the form of Dane County Judge Susan Crawford.
“I need to talk for just a minute or two about my opponent Elon Musk,” Crawford told a crowd of supporters in Kenosha last week, referring to the almost $20 million that Musk-affiliated PACs have thrown behind her opponent, Trump-backed conservative candidate Brad Schimel, a circuit court judge in Waukesha County. (Crawford, for her part, has been endorsed by the likes of Barack Obama and George Soros.)
Below, find everything you need to know about Judge Crawford—and why her race is being so closely watched.
Who is Susan Crawford?
A former prosecutor and attorney, Crawford is a circuit-court judge for Dane County who has served as chief legal counsel to Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle and administrator of the Office of Enforcement and Science in the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
Crawford is a lifelong Wisconsinite who grew up in Chippewa Falls and now lives in Madison with her husband Shawn; the couple are parents to two grown children.
What kind of cases has Crawford worked on?
True to her liberal word, Crawford has represented Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, the League of Women Voters, state Superintendent Tony Evers, and the Madison teachers’ union over the course of her career.
Why does Crawford’s potential election to the Wisconsin Supreme Court matter so much?
Wisconsin’s April 1 election will determine whether or not liberals retain a 4-3 advantage in the court. A shift in the opposite direciton could impact abortion rights, LGBTQ+ rights, labor policy, and dozens of other high-profile issues in the swing state.
What are Crawford’s chances of winning the Wisconsin Supreme Court election?
Of course, we won’t know until all the votes are counted whether or not Crawford’s bid to sit on the Wisconsin Supreme Court was successful, but a poll conducted between March 27 and 31 among 542 respondents gave Crawford a seven-point lead of 53% compared to Schimel’s 46%. Let’s go, girls!
