Janet Protasiewicz

In the spring of 2022, Protasiewicz announced her candidacy for Wisconsin Supreme Court in the 2023 election. Ultimately, three other candidates entered the race for the seat being vacated by the retirement of justice Patience Roggensack. Protasiewicz came in first in the February nonpartisan primary, securing a place in the April general election.[10] Her opponent in the general election was former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice Daniel Kelly.[11] Protasiewicz was candid during her campaign for Supreme Court about her philosophy and values on issues such as abortion, gerrymandering, LGBTQ rights, and environmental protections.[3] She supports abortion rights and opposes the state's Republican-drawn legislative maps.[12]

Protasiewicz won the April 4 general election, defeating Kelly by a larger margin than expected. News organizations projected her victory within a few hours of polls closing.[2][13][14]

Campaign spending was greater than any judiciary race in United States history, with outside political action committees accounting for more than two thirds of total expenditures. The Protasiewicz campaign raised $12 million and received $11.3 million in outside spending; her opponent raised $2.2 million and received $15.4 million in outside spending.[15][16] Three donors—George Soros, J. B. Pritzker, and Stacy and Lynn Schusterman—each gave $1 million to Protasiewicz via the Democratic Party, enabling Protasiewicz "to get TV ads on the air weeks before Kelly".[15][16][17] Her opponent received the bulk of his support through dark money PACs, including $5.3 million in spending by PACs controlled by conservative billionaires Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein, and $5.2 million in spending by PACs controlled by the business lobby Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce.[16][17]