State Courts Are the Last Line of Defense

Judge Chris Taylor on her race for Wisconsin Supreme Court State courts are the last line of defense. And what's happening in Wisconsin is a blueprint for the rest of the country. Between 2023 and 2025, Wisconsin made national headlines twice: first by flipping its Supreme Court to a liberal majority for the first time in 15 years, then by defending that majority against Elon Musk's $22 million spending spree. Both races shattered records. Both became tests of whether grassroots organizing could overcome dark money. Both succeeded. Now comes the next chapter. Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Judge Chris Taylor is running to expand the court from a 4-3 to a 5-2 progressive majority, not just to maintain control, but to build something more durable. Something that can withstand the next decade of attacks on abortion rights, voting rights, worker protections, and democracy itself. Judge Chris Taylor's story is one you need to hear. She spent years as the public policy director at Planned Parenthood Wisconsin, lobbying on what she calls "the hardest issues in politics": reproductive healthcare, sexual assault protections, domestic violence prevention. When Scott Walker's anti-union Act 10 passed and the political landscape shifted, she ran for State Assembly with a newborn and a four-year-old at home. She won. She served nine years fighting for working families and authored groundbreaking legislation protecting survivors of violence. Then Governor Tony Evers appointed her to the circuit court, she was elected to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, and now she's running for the state's highest court. In our conversation, we dig into what it means to go from advocacy to lawmaking to the bench, and whether those experiences make you a better judge or compromise your impartiality. We talk about the cases coming before Wisconsin's Supreme Court that will shape the next decade: challenges to union-busting laws, redistricting fights that will determine fair representation through 2030, and the flood of Trump administration policies that are ending up in state courts across the country. We explore how state constitutions often provide stronger protections than federal law, and why that matters more than ever right now. We also talk about the human side of running for a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat where judicial independence is sacred, but voters deserve to understand your values.  This episode isn't just about the Wisconsin Supreme Court 2026 election. It's about the role state courts are playing as a check on federal power. It's about what it takes to win these fights in an era of unlimited spending and nationalized judicial elections. It's about the pipeline from advocacy to power, and whether people who've spent their lives fighting for justice can also be impartial arbiters of the law. If you care about reproductive rights, if you're watching Trump-era policies roll out and wondering where the resistance will come from, if you believe courts should protect people's fundamental freedoms rather than serve partisan agendas—this conversation is for you. Guest: Chris Taylor