2026-04-07T10:00:55.523Z / 美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）
作者：阿莱特·萨恩斯
2小时前
发布于 2026年4月7日 美国东部时间上午6:00
2026年4月2日，在威斯康星州密尔沃基WISN电视台举办的WISN 12新闻威斯康星州最高法院辩论中，威斯康星州最高法院候选人玛丽亚·拉扎尔（左）与克里斯·泰勒参与活动。
约万尼·埃尔南德斯/密尔沃基哨兵报/联合通讯社 pooled photo
就在埃隆·马斯克头戴奶酪帽、斥巨资参与该州一场司法选举却以失败告终一年后，民主党人希望在周二的威斯康星州最高法院选举中再次给保守派带来打击。
保守派法官玛丽亚·拉扎尔与自由派法官克里斯·泰勒将角逐退休的保守派大法官丽贝卡·布拉德利留下的席位。去年自由派已拿下4比3的法院多数席位，因此此次选举不会改变法院控制权，但将决定自由派能否扩大对该州最高法院的掌控，这一优势可能持续到本十年末。
与2025年春季那场成为美国历史上花费最高的司法选举、并为民主党在唐纳德·特朗普总统第二任期初期带来动力的选举相比，本次竞选几乎未受关注。
周二的自由派胜利可能会在这个正进行竞争性中期选举、2028年总统大选即将到来的摇摆州产生深远影响。尽管此次选举在技术上属于无党派选举，但此次竞选也是衡量民主党选民热情的又一指标，同时也是检验共和党在特朗普未参选的情况下能否动员选民的试金石。
“确保我们的法院拥有支持民主的多数派至关重要，不仅要在中期选举期间做到这一点，还要在下一次总统选举乃至整个2030年都保持这一局面，”威斯康星州民主党主席德文·雷米克说道。
包括数位有望参与2028年竞选的民主党高层在内的顶尖民主党人士，都在想方设法为泰勒的竞选造势。据这位自由派法官的发言人透露，前美国驻日本大使拉姆·伊曼纽尔上月到访这个摇摆州，前交通部长皮特·布塔吉格、亚利桑那州参议员马克·凯利以及康涅狄格州参议员克里斯·墨菲都为泰勒签署了筹款邮件。
领导全国民主党重新划分选区委员会的埃里克·霍尔德在竞选最后阶段在该州开展拉票活动，前总统贝拉克·奥巴马则在网上发帖呼吁选民为泰勒投票。
2025年7月8日，位于威斯康星州麦迪逊的威斯康星州最高法院。
斯科特·鲍尔/美联社/资料图
3月中旬进行的马凯特法学院民调显示，超过一半的登记选民（53%）对此次选举尚未拿定主意，23%的人支持泰勒，17%的人支持拉扎尔。
整个竞选期间，泰勒在资金筹集方面远超拉扎尔。根据竞选财务报告，这位今年5月宣布参选的自由派法官已筹集超过560万美元，而拉扎尔自秋季宣布参选以来仅筹集了近90万美元。
据AdImpact公司的数据，此次竞选的总开支已超过600万美元，远低于去年那场全国化选举中超过8000万美元的数字和电视广告开支，去年的竞选还吸引了马斯克的数百万美元捐款以及外部团体的巨额投入。今年竞选的大部分开支都来自泰勒及其盟友。
曾负责过州司法竞选的共和党战略家马克·格劳尔表示，资金差距对保守派来说是一个预警信号。
“如果泰勒法官获胜，所有人都可以指出她的竞选团队在此次选举中拥有的巨大资源优势，”格劳尔说道。
拉扎尔竞选团队的发言人内森·康拉德承认其竞选面临资金难题，并补充道：“我们正精准聚焦资金使用方向，确保在选举日前尽可能多地向我们认定需要了解玛丽亚主张的目标选民传递信息。”
堕胎权与选民ID法争议
泰勒是来自戴恩县的州上诉法院法官，曾在州议会担任9年民主党议员，还曾担任威斯康星州计划生育协会的律师和政策主任。拉扎尔是来自沃基沙县的州上诉法院法官，曾担任州助理总检察长，期间为前共和党州长斯科特·沃克的《第10号法案》辩护，该法案实际上终结了大多数公共部门员工的集体谈判权，同时还为2011年该州共和党主导的重新划分选区行动辩护。
在周四晚间的唯一一场辩论中，拉扎尔与泰勒就堕胎权问题展开交锋。此前数月，州最高法院的自由派多数派推翻了该州拥有176年历史的堕胎禁令，保守派称该禁令在最高法院推翻“罗伊诉韦德案”后已重新生效。
拉扎尔表示，最高法院已将堕胎的法律管辖权下放给各州，并称她将遵守威斯康星州怀孕20周后禁止堕胎的规定，她将该规定称为“折中方案”。
“我认为这符合该州民众的普遍预期，”拉扎尔说道，“如果民众不认可，解决方案应该是诉诸州议会和州长，而非法院。”
泰勒的竞选广告曾播放拉扎尔称“多布斯案”判决“非常明智”的言论，泰勒称对手的立场“令人痛心”。
“对于那些如今生活在堕胎被列为非法的州的强奸和乱伦受害者来说，这一点并不明智。对于那些因妊娠并发症无法获得救治而失去生命的女性来说，这一点也并不明智，”泰勒说道，“我的对手会让我们倒退。我会带领我们向前。”
拉扎尔明显情绪激动，称“这完全是无稽之谈”。
“我从未想过让任何女性受到伤害，从来没有，从来没有。我一直都认为，母亲的健康和生命是最重要的，”拉扎尔说道。
就在唐纳德·特朗普总统签署行政令打击邮寄投票、并推动国会共和党人通过全国性投票限制法案数天后，两位候选人也就选举诚信问题发表了各自看法。
泰勒表示，她“非常担心我们可能会出现压制选票的行为”，并辩称“这就是为什么我们需要一个强大的最高法院，能够对联邦政府进行监督”。
拉扎尔称她将支持该州选民去年投票通过的选民ID法，但补充道她并不认同联邦层面正在推进的所有相关举措，她认为提前投票和邮寄投票是“负责任”且“必要的”。
“我认为重要的是要告诉威斯康星州民众，我们的选举是安全、可靠的，他们的选票算数，”她补充道。
在特朗普试图推翻2020年总统选举结果近六年后，拉扎尔试图与那些拒不承认特朗普当年败选的人保持距离，称“乔·拜登确实赢了”。
自由派连胜促使保守派重新调整策略
尽管该州在总统层面的政治倾向多次轮换，但威斯康星州最高法院选举的自由派连胜始于2020年。自由派在2023年夺回多数席位，并在去年的选举中进一步巩固了对法院的掌控，当时自由派大法官苏珊·克劳福德以10个百分点的优势击败保守派法官布拉德·希梅尔。
2025年4月1日，苏珊·克劳福德在威斯康星州麦迪逊的竞选总部向支持者发表讲话，庆祝她当选州最高法院大法官。
文森特·阿尔班/路透社/资料图
如果泰勒在周二获胜，自由派将拥有5比2的多数席位，并可能在明年进一步巩固其控制权。上月，保守派大法官安妮特·齐格勒宣布退休，为2027年的另一个法院席位竞选埋下伏笔。
布拉德利在去年夏天宣布从州最高法院退休时，曾警告法院正朝着“痛苦的党派对立”方向发生“令人担忧的转变”。
“保守派运动需要审视自己的失败，找出问题所在并加以解决，”布拉德利写道。
曾负责齐格勒的最高法院竞选的格劳尔表示，过去成功的保守派候选人都有相似的背景——拥有检察官从业经验并获得执法部门的大力支持，他认为拉扎尔就符合这一形象。
但他认为，保守派在司法竞选活动中还需要专注于赢回郊区选民，尤其是该州东南部的郊区选民。
“我们必须找到一种方式，向这些选民传递能吸引他们公平正义感的信息，”他说道。
Liberals will try to expand their majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court in a Tuesday election
2026-04-07T10:00:55.523Z / CNN
By Arlette Saenz
2 hr ago
PUBLISHED Apr 7, 2026, 6:00 AM ET
Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates Maria Lazar, left, and Chris Taylor participate in the Wisconsin Supreme Court debate hosted by WISN 12 News at WISN-TV in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on April 2, 2026.
Jovanny Hernandez/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel/Pool/AP
One year after Elon Musk donned a cheesehead hat and unsuccessfully poured millions of his personal fortune into a judicial contest in the state, Democrats are hoping to deliver another setback to conservatives in Wisconsin’s Supreme Court election on Tuesday.
Conservative judge Maria Lazar and liberal judge Chris Taylor are facing off to replace retiring Justice Rebecca Bradley, a conservative. The race won’t flip control of the court after liberals last year secured a 4-3 majority, but it will determine whether liberals can extend their hold on the state’s highest court, potentially through the end of the decade.
The contest has flown under the radar compared to the spring 2025 election that became the most expensive judicial race in US history and offered Democrats a jolt of momentum early in President Donald Trump’s second term.
A liberal win Tuesday could have far-reaching implications in a battleground state where competitive midterm elections are underway and a presidential race looms in 2028. Though the election is technically nonpartisan, the contest is also another gauge of Democratic enthusiasm and a test of Republicans’ ability to turn out voters when Trump is not on the ballot.
“It is critical to make sure that we have a pro-democracy majority on our bench, not just through the midterm, but through the next presidential election, and all the way through 2030,” said Devin Remiker, the chair of Wisconsin’s Democratic Party.
Top Democrats, including several with eyes on potential 2028 runs, have looked for ways to boost Taylor’s campaign. Former US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel hit the battleground state last month while former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy have signed fundraising e-mails for Taylor, a spokesperson for the liberal judge said.
Eric Holder, who leads the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, campaigned in the state in the final stretch while former President Barack Obama posted an online call to turn out for Taylor.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court in Madison, Wisconsin, on July 8, 2025.
Scott Bauer/AP/File
A Marquette Law School poll conducted in mid-March found more than half of registered voters (53%) were undecided about the race, with 23% supporting Taylor while 17% favored Lazar.
Taylor has held a significant financial edge over Lazar throughout the campaign. The liberal judge, who entered the race in May, raised more than $5.6 million, while Lazar brought in nearly $900,000 since she entered the race in the fall, according to campaigns filing reports.
Spending in this race has topped $6 million, according to data from AdImpact, far below the more than $80 million spent in digital and TV spots in last year’s nationalized race which drew in millions from Musk and heavy spending from outside groups. Most of the spending in this year’s contest has come from Taylor and her allies.
Mark Graul, a GOP strategist who has managed state judicial races in the past, said that money disparity is a warning sign for conservatives.
“If Judge Taylor is successful, all you have to do is point to the tremendous resource advantage her campaign has had in this race,” said Graul.
Nathan Conrad, a spokesperson for Lazar’s campaign, acknowledged the financial challenge facing her run, adding, “We are focusing laser pointed on where our dollars are going and making sure we’re hitting the target voters that we know need to hear Maria’s message as often as possible before Election Day.”
Disputes over abortion rights and voter ID
Taylor, a state appeals court judge from Dane County, spent nine years as a Democratic legislator in the state assembly and was an attorney and policy director for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin. Lazar, a state appeals court judge from Waukesha County, was formerly an assistant state attorney general who defended former GOP Gov. Scott Walker’s Act 10, which effectively ended collective bargaining rights for most public-sector workers, and Republican redistricting efforts in the state in 2011.
In their lone debate on Thursday night, Lazar and Taylor sparred over abortion rights months after the liberal majority on the court struck down the state’s 176-year-old abortion ban that conservatives argued reactivated after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade.
Lazar said the Supreme Court moved legal authority over abortion to the states and said she would honor Wisconsin’s ban on abortions after 20 weeks, which she labeled a “compromise.”
“I think that it falls within the parameters of where people in the state believe it should be,” said Lazar. “And if they don’t, the answer is to go to the legislature and the governor, not the courts.”
Taylor, who has run campaign ads featuring Lazar saying the Dobbs decision was “very wise,” said her opponent’s position was “tragic.”
“It’s not been very wise for victims of rape and incest who now live in states where abortion has been outlawed. It’s not very wise for women who have lost their lives in states because they couldn’t get help when a pregnancy went wrong,” Taylor said. “My opponent is going to take us backwards. I will take us forwards.”
Lazar grew visibly agitated, saying “That’s absolutely ridiculous.”
“I have never wanted women injured, ever, ever, ever. I have always said that the health and life of the mother is the most important thing,” said Lazar.
The two candidates also weighed in on election integrity matters just days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order to crack down on mail-in voting and as he pushes congressional Republicans to pass nationwide restrictions.
Taylor said she is “very concerned that we might have efforts to suppress the vote” and argued “this is why we need a strong Supreme Court that’s going to hold the federal government accountable.”
Lazar said she would uphold the state’s voter ID law, which Wisconsin voters approved last year, but added she does not agree with all the efforts underway on the federal level, nothing that early and mail-in voting is “responsible” and “necessary.”
“I think it’s important that we tell people in the state of Wisconsin that our elections are safe, they’re secure and that their votes count,” she added.
Nearly six years after Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 presidential results, Lazar also sought to put some distance between herself and people who refuse to acknowledge Trump’s loss that year, saying, “Joe Biden did win.”
A liberal winning streak prompts calls for conservative recalibration
Though the state has swung between political parties on the presidential level, a liberal winning streak in the state Supreme Court races began in 2020. Liberals reclaimed the majority in 2023 and extended their control of their court in last year’s contest when liberal Justice Susan Crawford beat conservative Judge Brad Schimel by 10 points.
Susan Crawford speaks to supporters after voters elected her to the state Supreme Court, at her election night headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin, on April 1, 2025.
Vincent Alban/Reuters/File
If Taylor wins on Tuesday, liberals would have a 5-2 majority and may have the ability to cement their control even more next year. Last month, conservative Justice Annette Ziegler announced her retirement, putting another court seat in play in 2027.
In her announcement last summer that she was retiring from the state Supreme Court, Bradley warned of an “alarming shift” towards “bitter partisanship” on the court.
“The conservative movement needs to take stock of its failures, identify the problem, and fix it,” Bradley wrote.
Graul, who ran Ziegler’s races for the Supreme Court, said successful conservative candidates in the past have fit a similar profile – judges with prior experience as prosecutors and strong backing from law enforcement – which he believes Lazar embodies.
But he argued conservatives in judicial contests also will need to focus on winning back suburban voters, particularly in the southeast portion of the state.
“We’ve got to figure out a way to communicate to those voters in a way that appeals to their sense of fairness,” he said.