Wisconsin is bracing for a high-stakes state Supreme Court election that will determine its balance of power just months after President-elect Trump flipped the battleground state.

Dane County Judge Susan Crawford and former Attorney General Brad Schimel (R) are vying for retiring liberal Justice Ann Walsh Bradley’s seat on the high court, which currently has a 4-3 liberal tilt. Bradley’s departure brings the partisan balance to a 3-3 split.

Republicans are eager to net a seat on the court after losing a consequential Wisconsin Supreme Court race two years ago, handing Democrats control for the first time in 15 years.

Rusty Schultz, who’s worked for former Gov. Scott Walker (R) and Sen. Ron Johnson’s (R-Wis.) campaign, noted that “conservatives are starting to wake up to the importance of the court.”

“I think there was this, like, maybe sense of apprehension or just not necessarily understanding, because for so long, we pulled all three levers of government, right, and we kind of took that court for granted,” he explained. “And I think in 2023, after that loss, people started to wake up to that.”

Voters will be heading to the polls early next year to weigh which candidate should fill the vacancy on the state’s highest court. So far, Crawford and Schimel are the only declared candidates, though there could be late additions.

Though Wisconsin Supreme Court races are technically nonpartisan, both candidates have clearly leaned into issues that resonate with their Republican and Democrat bases.

Most voters know Schimel as a former Republican state attorney general, though he’s currently a Waukesha County Circuit Court judge. His website touts his time as Wisconsin attorney general — “the state’s Top Cop” as his campaign describes him — and his record on advocating for crime victims and his work on the opioid abuse.

“I watched in 2023 what happened in the last Supreme Court race, and I felt compelled to run,” Schimel told The Hill.

“We had a candidate for office who won promising how she would rule on cases, and the other -- the other liberals on the court were applauding that. They were just wildly in........

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