2019 Wisconsin Supreme Court election
| Elections in Wisconsin |
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The 2019 Wisconsin Supreme Court election was held on Tuesday, April 2, 2019, to elect a justice to the Wisconsin Supreme Court for a ten-year term. The Incumbent justice, Shirley Abrahamson, retired after 43 years on the court, the longest in the history of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Although the Wisconsin Supreme Court justices are considered nonpartisan, Abrahamson identified as a liberal and voted with the liberal 3–4 minority on the court. Wisconsin Court of Appeals judge Brian Hagedorn narrowly defeated Chief Judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals Lisa Neubauer, shifting the ideology of the court towards conservatives.
This is the most recent election in which a conservative candidate has won election to the court. It is also the only contested supreme court election election held since 2016 that did not see a liberal candidate win with approximately 55% of the vote against a conservative candidate (as has been the outcomes of the 2018, 2020, 2023, and 2025 elections).
Background
Candidates
There was no Supreme Court primary in 2019, as only two candidates ran for the seat.
Declared
- Brian Hagedorn, Wisconsin Court of Appeals judge
- Lisa Neubauer, Chief Judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals
Declined
- Shirley Abrahamson, incumbent Supreme Court justice
- Susan Happ, Jefferson County District Attorney, Democratic nominee for Wisconsin Attorney General in 2014
- Maria Lazar, judge of the Waukesha County Circuit Court (endorsed Hagedorn)
General election
Endorsements
Judicial officials
- Rebecca Bradley, Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court
- Michael Gableman, former Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court (2008–2018)
- Daniel Kelly, Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court
- David Prosser, former justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court (1998–2016)
- Jon Wilcox, former justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court (1992–2007)
Organizations
- National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund
- Pro-Life Wisconsin Victory Fund PAC
Wisconsin Realtors Association- Wisconsin Right to Life PAC
Labor unions
Political parties
Judicial officials
- 19 current and former Wisconsin Court of Appeals judges
Labor unions
- Teamsters Joint Council 39
- WI AFL-CIO
- Wisconsin Building Trades Council
Organizations
- Citizen Action Wisconsin
- Human Rights Campaign
- National Democratic Redistricting Committee
- Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin
Political parties
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