MADISON — Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Janet Protasiewicz announced Wednesday that she will run for the Wisconsin Supreme Court next year to fill a seat currently held by the conservative former chief justice.
The April election will determine the ideological balance of the court. Retiring Justice Patience Roggensack, who turns 82 in July, is not seeking a third 10-year term. She is part of the four-justice conservative majority on the seven-member court.
Protasiewicz, in a statement launching her candidacy, blamed “radical right-wing extremists” for attacking “our most closely-held constitutional rights.”
“We know that it’s not up to the government to decide who we can or can’t love," she said. “We know the 2020 election resulted in Joe Biden’s election. We must restore confidence that judges aren’t just trying to reach their favored outcomes, but actually applying the law and the constitution. I’m running to restore integrity to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and get politics out of the courtroom.”
Protasiewicz has served as a circuit court judge since 2014 and currently serves in the family court. She previously worked 26 years as an assistant Milwaukee County district attorney.
Numerous others are mulling whether to run, including former conservative Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Dan Kelly.
