'We're basically giving up': GOP operative blasts party's surrender in key swing state

With Wisconsin Republicans losing their fourth consecutive state Supreme Court race in a row, fingers are flying, and the blame game is flaring up — and some strategists are concerned that the key battleground state, after backing Trump in two out of three of the last presidential elections, is being abandoned to Democrats.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the issues began at the very start for Republicans, with Judge Chris Taylor massively outraising her opponent, Judge Maria Lazar.

Supreme Court elections in Wisconsin are nominally nonpartisan, but in practice each party always backs a candidate.

"Campaign finance reports filed early last week showed Taylor had raised about $5.6 million in the race to replace conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley, who announced last year that she was not seeking reelection," said the report. "Lazar reported raising about $900,000 since she got in the race in October. Totals posted online on Wisconsin's Campaign Finance Information System on April 6 were slightly higher, showing Taylor had raised about $6.2 million and Lazar had brought in about $1.2 million. Those totals include monetary and in-kind contributions."

Mark Graul, a GOP strategist who advised right-wing Justice Annette Ziegler, said, "We're basically giving up on the court. Which is a horrible decision to make, because it's going to have huge ramifications, and it may not matter who's governor, or who controls the Legislature, if the court is controlled by liberals for the next 10 to 15 years." Ziegler herself plans to retire rather than seek another term.

Meanwhile, Tom Tiffany, the top GOP candidate for governor, insisted this result has no bearing on November: “Well, we got our butts kicked last night, right? There’s no doubt about it, and we should acknowledge that," he said to reporters during a Madison event. "But the election that’s coming up this fall, in November, is a new election, and … every election is unique, and I have built a campaign − money, manpower, messaging − we’re going to compete on all fronts.”

Conservatives controlled a majority on the state Supreme Court for years, with the justices helping the GOP on a number of issues like the gutting of labor rights.

Voters finally solidified a liberal majority in 2023, and since then, the court has shifted its direction, invalidating a 19th-century state abortion ban and striking down the longtime legislative gerrymanders that gave Republicans lopsided majorities even when more voters backed Democrats.