{"id":15851,"date":"2025-03-20T15:45:33","date_gmt":"2025-03-20T16:45:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/?p=15851"},"modified":"2025-03-21T17:05:20","modified_gmt":"2025-03-21T17:05:20","slug":"conservative-candidate-is-within-striking-distance-of-liberal-opponent-in-swing-state-judicial-contest-poll","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/?p=15851","title":{"rendered":"Conservative Candidate Is Within \u2018Striking Distance\u2019 of Liberal Opponent in Swing State Judicial Contest: POLL"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post originally appeared at https:\/\/wisconsindailystar.com\/news\/conservative-candidate-is-within-striking-distance-of-liberal-opponent-in-swing-state-judicial-contest-poll\/dcnf\/2025\/03\/20\/<\/a><\/p>\n

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by Adam Pack<\/h5>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Conservative Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel is within \u201cstriking distance\u201d of his liberal opponent, Dane County Judge Susan Crawford, in the Wisconsin State Supreme Court election scheduled for April 1, according to a new polling memo released Thursday by Elon Musk\u2019s Building America\u2019s Future group.<\/p>\n

Schimel, the Republican Wisconsin Attorney General from 2015 to 2019, is trailing Crawford 48% to 43%,\u00a0according<\/a>\u00a0to the political nonprofit group\u2019s survey conducted from March 17-18. Though Crawford is leading her conservative opponent outside the poll\u2019s four point margin-of-error, Musk\u2019s political group argues that Schimel has the momentum in the race as negative ads from conservative groups highlight Crawford\u2019s soft-on-crime record.<\/p>\n

Schimel (pictured above, right) was thirteen points behind Crawford (pictured above, left) just two weeks ago, the poll conducted by the Tyson Group found. Crawford is also experiencing a \u201cdrastic erosion in her support\u201d \u2014 a 12% drop in favorability \u2014 as voters learn more about the left-wing judge\u2019s views, according to Musk\u2019s group.<\/p>\n

\"DCNF-logo\"The Wisconsin State Supreme Court contest is one of the most consequential elections of 2025.\u00a0 The race is projected to be the most expensive judicial contest of all time with spending expected to topple $100 million.<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump notably\u00a0won<\/a>\u00a0the state in the November election by just under a full percentage point, beating former Vice President Kamala Harris, the then-Democratic nominee for president.<\/p>\n

The winner will be given a ten-year term to weigh in on the future of redistricting as well as cultural issues, such as pro-life policies, in the critical swing state. Though the state\u2019s supreme court contests are officially nonpartisan, left-wing justices will be seen as controlling a majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court until 2028 if Schimel loses.<\/p>\n

Schimel supporters are raising the alarm that a Crawford victory could negatively impact the future makeup of Congress. Though the court\u00a0declined<\/a>\u00a0to hear a congressional redistricting case brought by Democrats in March, Crawford appears to be supportive of hearing potential redistricting cases to benefit Democrats if she is elected to the bench.<\/p>\n

Crawford notably participated in a Jan. 13 fundraising event organized by staffers to Democratic megadonor Reid Hoffman\u00a0that was marketed as a \u201cchance to put two more House seats in play for 2026,\u201d\u00a0according<\/a>\u00a0to an email invitation for the event first reported by The New York Times<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cCrawford has made it clear that, if elected, she will rubber stamp Democrats\u2019 radical agenda to gerrymander Wisconsin\u2019s U.S. congressional districts,\u201d Americans for Prosperity Wisconsin state director Megan Novak\u00a0wrote<\/a>\u00a0in an op-ed for the Daily Caller News Foundation on March 11. \u201cThe consequences of this race could not be more real.\u201d<\/p>\n

Group\u2019s backing Schimel should continue to pound Crawford\u2019s campaign, attacking the judge\u2019s record for being soft on law-and-order issues<\/a> to weaken her support with left-of-center Wisconsinites, according to Musk\u2019s group who claims the spate of negative television\u00a0ads<\/a>\u00a0are working.<\/p>\n

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For Susan Crawford, putting pedophiles back on the street is a pattern. pic.twitter.com\/w6gDpSrSXB<\/a><\/p>\n

— Team Schimel (@TeamSchimel) March 19, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n