Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley, who opted not to run for re-election this week, tells Today’s TMJ 4 that she anticipated that liberals would win her seat.
Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley said she anticipated liberals would prevail in this week’s election for an open seat on the state’s highest court.
Liberal Appeals Court Judge Chris Taylor defeated conservative Appeals Court Judge Maria Lazar on Tuesday, expanding the court’s liberal majority to 5-2. Taylor’s victory came in the race to replace Bradley, a conservative who chose not to seek re-election. Official results showed Taylor winning by about 20 percentage points.
In an interview with Today’s TMJ 4 News following the election, Bradley said she was not surprised by the outcome. She predicted the result when deciding last year not to run again, citing long-standing challenges for conservative judicial candidates.
“I tried to warn people that we needed to be prepared to make changes and to be prepared for the infrastructure on the so-called other side to develop and grow,” Bradley told reporter Charles Benson. “But my warnings went unheeded.”
Bradley, who won her seat in 2016, said she saw signs of shifting dynamics years ago. She noted that conservative candidates have struggled with ground-game efforts and fundraising mechanisms, areas where she said the Republican Party supporting such candidates needs improvement. Bradley added that she is not a politician and does not know precisely how to address the issue.
“What I do know is that the Republican Party that tends to support conservative candidates for judicial office needs to have a better ground game and needs to have a strong fundraising mechanism,” she added.
Bradley first warned last year that the conservative movement needs to assess its shortcomings in state Supreme Court races. Tuesday’s contest marked the latest in a series of wins for liberal-backed candidates, following a 2025 victory that gave liberals a 4-3 edge.
Bradley said she does not believe the results reflect voter dissatisfaction with the prior conservative court but rather that it may have been taken for granted. She acknowledged the possibility of the court shifting to a 7-0 liberal majority, though she noted political environments can change quickly.
Taylor, a former Democratic state lawmaker and Planned Parenthood policy director, will begin her 10-year term in August. Bradley’s term ends July 31st.
