2026 Wisconsin Supreme Court election

Chris Taylor

Maria Lazar

Popular vote

905,155

600,044

Percentage

60.1%

39.8% | | | | Chris Taylor | Maria Lazar | 905,155 | 600,044 | 60.1% | 39.8% | | | | | | | | | | | | | Chris Taylor | Maria Lazar | | | | | | | | | | 905,155 | 600,044 | | | | | | | | | | 60.1% | 39.8% | | | | | | | | | | Unofficial county results Congressional district resultsTaylor:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%Lazar:      50–60%      60–70% | | | | | | | | | | | Justice before election Rebecca Bradley

Elected Justice Chris Taylor | Justice before election Rebecca Bradley | Elected Justice Chris Taylor | | | | | | | | | Justice before election Rebecca Bradley | Elected Justice Chris Taylor | | | | | | | | |

The 2026 Wisconsin Supreme Court election was held on April 7, 2026, to elect a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court for a ten-year term. Wisconsin Court of Appeals judge Chris Taylor defeated Wisconsin Court of Appeals judge Maria Lazar in a landslide, resulting in the court having its liberal majority expanded from 4–3 to 5–2. Taylor will be sworn in as a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court on August 1, 2026 upon the completion of her predecessor's term.

Incumbent justice Rebecca Bradley chose not to seek reelection after serving on the court since October 2015. The filing deadline to appear on the ballot was January 1, 2026. As only two candidates filed for this seat, the February 17 nonpartisan primary was not held. The in-person early voting period ran from March 24 to April 5, 2026.

Bradley is associated with the conservative minority on the court, meaning that the 2026 election was not expected to affect the ideological majority of the court. Taylor's victory further solidifies the liberal majority until at least 2030. Prior elections for the Wisconsin Supreme Court were high-profile events, with the most recent having over $100 million in spending, but this election had a lower profile and less than $9 million total in spending.

Taylor won the election by a 20-point margin, far exceeding the margins seen in recent elections.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court tipped from a 4–3 conservative majority to a 4–3 liberal majority due to the 2023 election, which at that time was the most expensive judicial election in history. The liberals retained their 4–3 majority in the 2025 election, when that race became the most expensive judicial election in history. The incumbent in 2026, Rebecca Bradley, is a member of the conservative minority, and therefore the outcome of the election would not change the court's ideological majority in any case.

Bradley initially announced in April 2025 that she would run for reelection. Political observers, however, noticed that she was not engaged in any fund-raising activity for a reelection campaign, and on August 29, 2025, she announced she was withdrawing from the race.

Historically, it has been rare for incumbents to lose reelection to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Due to this, open-seat races have generally been regarded as valuable opportunities to potentially alter the court's ideological composition. Only 23 of the more than 136 previous elections held for the court have been for open seats. It has also been rare for contested Wisconsin Supreme Court races to be held without the need for a primary.

• Maria Lazar, Wisconsin Court of Appeals judge (2022–present)

• Chris Taylor, Wisconsin Court of Appeals judge (2023–present) and former state representative (2011–2019)

• Rebecca Bradley, incumbent Supreme Court justice (2015–present)

• Lyndsey Boon Brunette, Clark County circuit judge and former Clark County district attorney (2012–2016) (endorsed Taylor)

• Pedro Colón, Wisconsin Court of Appeals judge (2023–present) and former state representative (1999–2011) (endorsed Taylor)

• Sara Geenen, Wisconsin Court of Appeals judge (2023–present) (endorsed Taylor)

• Gregory Gill, Wisconsin Court of Appeals judge (2021–present)

• Rachel Graham, Wisconsin Court of Appeals judge (2019–present) (endorsed Taylor)

Without the court's ideological majority hanging in the balance, the election attracted far less attention and fundraising than the 2025 election, which was the most expensive judicial election in American history. As the race neared its end in March, spending was less than $9 million total, far below the $100 million in the prior election.. The decline in fundraising and advertising greatly lowered the profile of the race, with only a small proportion of the electorate paying close attention. In line with previous elections, however, voting rights remained at the forefront of the campaign with Taylor and Lazar taking opposite positions on recent redistricting litigation, as well as other issues such as abortion and labor rights. Taylor held a considerable fund-raising lead in the lead-up to the election, as liberals sought to expand their majority on the Court.

This fundraising advantage, as well as her lead in pre-election polling, had many predicting Taylor as favored to win the election. The low turnout in early voting, muted voter enthusiasm, and large number of undecided voters in polling still left the outcome uncertain, however, with the same predictors conceding a Lazar upset as a possibility.

Taylor won seven of eight congressional districts, two of which are held by Democrats and five of which are held by Republicans.

• 2026 Wisconsin elections

Official campaign websites

• Maria Lazar for Supreme Court
• Chris Taylor for Supreme Court