The Pro-Life Wisconsin Victory Fund political action committee (PAC) on Thursday came out in favor of Justice Daniel Kelly’s election to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Kelly previously served on the court from 2016 to 2020 but failed to get reelected that spring. This year, he will face state Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Dorow (3rd District), Dane County Circuit Court Judge Everett Mitchell (Branch 4), and Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Janet Protasiewicz (Branch 24) in the February 21 primary. The top two vote-getters will compete for the high-court seat in an April 4 general election.
While candidates for this office do not seek partisan nominations, Kelly and Dorow have largely associated themselves with Republican and conservative politics and received judicial appointments from former GOP Governor Scott Walker. Mitchell and Protasiewicz have progressive bents, the former enjoying the support of Democratic former Governor Jim Doyle and the latter having generated a left-leaning reputation in the press.
Pro-Life Wisconsin Victory Fund PAC Director Matt Sande described Kelly as “the only candidate in this race with a proven record of judicial conservatism, and therefore the only candidate we trust.”
Kelly and his opponents are running to succeed retiring conservative Justice Patience Roggensack, whose term expires on July 31. Whether a right-leaning jurist holds this seat could significantly affect abortion policy in the Badger State. Democratic state Attorney General Josh Kaul is now litigating against an 1849 law largely prohibiting abortion that was allowed to go back into effect after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that forced all states to permit abortion.
Like Kelly, Judge Dorow is also running as a judicial conservative. Her lack of background on a statewide appellate court, however, could make her record in that regard more challenging for right-leaning voters to assess than in Kelly’s case. But last year, the circuit court judge rose to national prominence for presiding over the Waukesha Christmas Parade trial, which resulted in Darrell Brooks receiving back-to-back lifetime sentences for six vehicular homicides. During those proceedings, the judge gained a reputation for patience in the face of a defendant who conducted himself in a disruptive fashion while acting as his own attorney.
And Dorow, whose campaign has not returned a request for comment, has received numerous law-enforcement endorsements since announcing her candidacy last autumn. Those include the Milwaukee Police Association, the Waukesha County Police Chiefs Association, Fon Du Lac District Attorney Eric Toney (R), and a bipartisan array of sheriffs and retired sheriffs.
And even though Kelly now has major pro-life support, Pro-Life Wisconsin is not the only anti-abortion organization likely to weigh in on the high-court election. Gracie Skogman, legislative director at Wisconsin Right to Life, said her association has not yet finalized a decision to support a candidate in the race but anticipates issuing an endorsement in the coming weeks.
Some nuances distinguish the two groups. Pro-Life Wisconsin is explicitly Christian and favors no exceptions to an abortion ban, including “perceived threat to the mother’s health or life.” Wisconsin right to life is nonsectarian and supports a medical-emergency exception.
– – –
Bradley Vasoli is managing editor of The Wisconsin Daily Star. Follow Brad on Twitter at @BVasoli. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Justice Daniel Kelly” by Justice Daniel Kelly. Background Photo “Wisconsin Supreme Court” by Royalbroil. CC BY-SA 3.0.
