Wisconsin Republicans Will Lose the Supreme Court and Remembering Barbara Walters

Four people so far have announced their plans to run for Wisconsin's Supreme Court in an election that could shift the top court's ideological balance of power. Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Dorow became the second conservative to jump into the race when she announced her candidacy this week outside the courthouse where she presided over the trial of the Waukesha Christmas parade attacker. Another conservative, former state Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly, is also running, along with two liberals — Dane County Circuit Judge Everett Mitchell and Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Janet Protasiewicz. Currently, conservatives have a 4-3 majority on the court, though that could change if a liberal is elected in April to replace conservative Justice Patience Roggensack, who's retiring this summer at the end of her second 10-year term. "It is a highly consequential election because it's going to determine the balance of the court until at least 2025," said Robert Yablon, an associate professor at the University Wisconsin-Madison Law School. Although Wisconsin's Supreme Court elections are officially non-partisan, UW-Madison political science professor Howard Schweber notes highly partisan issues are at stake. That includes abortion rights, gerrymandering and the way elections are run.