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Chris Taylor, the Democratic-backed candidate for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, won election Tuesday over Republican-backed Maria Lazar, boosting the liberal majority on the bench as the court faces future disputes over issues including redistricting, abortion policy and labor matters, according to reporting by the Associated Press.

AP reported that Taylor, a judge on the Wisconsin appeals court, defeated Lazar in what was described as the fourth straight win for liberal court candidates dating back to 2020. The result extends a liberal hold on the court until at least 2030, with the AP account tying the majority gains to a sequence of recent elections.

In her campaign, Taylor focused heavily on abortion rights. AP said one of her television ads argued that “abortion is on the ballot,” and she also criticized Lazar for describing the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade as “very wise.”

Taylor also addressed the election outcome in a victory speech, saying: “Once again, Wisconsin showed the entire nation that we believe that the people should be at the center of government and the priority of our judiciary, not the billionaires, not the most powerful and privileged, but the people.” AP reported that she framed the court’s role in terms of governance priorities and who should be served.

After Lazar’s loss, AP reported that Wisconsin Republican Party Chair Brian Schimming said, “stay united and continue fighting for our conservative values.” Schimming’s statement came as Republicans sought to rally support despite the double-digit defeat described in the AP account.

During the campaign, AP said both candidates—Taylor and Lazar, also an appeals court judge—contested one another’s judicial neutrality. AP reported that in their sole debate last week, Lazar accused Taylor of being a “radical, extreme legislator” and a “judicial activist,” while Taylor responded that Lazar would bring “an extreme, right-wing political agenda to the bench.”

AP reported that the race also reflected the broader political landscape facing Democrats in Wisconsin ahead of November elections, including Democrats’ hopes to win control of the governor’s office and flip the state Legislature. The AP account said that in the months before the November vote, Democrats have worked to tighten their control of the state’s top court, which could give them leverage in legal fights tied to redistricting and other major policy questions.

AP said the court’s liberal control began in 2023 after 15 years of conservative majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The AP account added that Democrats have emphasized the stakes of recent elections, including describing how a conservative majority in 2020 came one vote shy of siding with Donald Trump in efforts tied to overturning the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.

In addition to abortion-focused messaging, AP said the liberal-controlled court has already reversed or affected certain rulings, including election-related decisions such as overturning a ban on absentee ballot drop boxes, and ordered new legislative maps after taking control. AP said the court is poised to continue to draw national attention around the 2028 presidential election as new cases make their way to the justices.

AP also reported that while Wisconsin Supreme Court races are officially nonpartisan, support for candidates breaks mostly along partisan lines. The seat that Taylor won was open due to the retirement of a conservative justice, and AP said another conservative justice is retiring next year—an additional factor that AP reported could give liberals the prospect of a 6-1 configuration on the court following Taylor’s win.

Taylor has served as a judge since 2020 and previously worked for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, AP reported. Before her judicial work, AP said she represented Madison as a Democrat in the state Assembly for 10 years, while Lazar has served as a judge since 2015 and previously worked in the state Department of Justice under former Republican Attorney General Scott Walker.

AP reported that in Lazar’s prior government role, she defended a law enacted by Walker that effectively ended collective bargaining for most public workers. AP also said a circuit court judge ruled in December that the law is unconstitutional and that the decision is expected to ultimately land before the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

AP said Democrats entered the election with optimism shaped by prior Supreme Court races, which saw candidates they backed win by double digits. In the same AP account, attention shifted to how the new court majority could help Democrats’ legal and policy goals as November approaches and as future cases come before the justices.