FFRF Action Fund is pleased to endorse Judge Chris Taylor for the Wisconsin Supreme Court in the upcoming spring election on Tuesday, April 7. Wisconsin Supreme Court elections are officially nonpartisan.
With a victory for Taylor in April, the high court’s liberal majority would expand to 5–2, further securing constitutional rights and the separation of state and church for all Wisconsinites. The court’s liberal majority overturned the state’s draconian 1849 abortion ban last July, but anti-abortion threats continue. There is no incumbent in the race, as Justice Rebecca Bradley, a conservative, is not running for reelection.
Taylor was elected to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals in 2023, after serving on the Dane County Circuit Court since 2020. Taylor also served nearly a decade in the Wisconsin Assembly and worked as an attorney and policy director for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin. Taylor describes her judicial philosophy as “people-centered, grounded in making sure individuals get a fair chance in our courts, and that their constitutional rights are protected.”
Taylor’s opponent is Judge Maria Lazar, who sits on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals. Lazar worked in the private sector before joining the Wisconsin Attorney General’s office for Republican J.B. Van Hollen in 2011. Lazar has said that she believes a so-called fetal heartbeat law, which would ban abortions at six weeks, would potentially work in Wisconsin, according to a recording of a college Republican event. She has publicly praised the overturning of Roe v. Wade as “very wise” and refused to respond when asked whether abortion bans should have exceptions in cases of rape or life endangerment.
By contrast, Taylor’s campaign website highlights reproductive justice and her work at Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin: “[Taylor] defended constitutional rights and advocated for health care access for all and for each individual to make their own personal, private health care decisions.”
Taylor is the clear choice to strengthen a Wisconsin Supreme Court that believes in the preservation of the constitutional principle of state/church separation.
Please learn more about Taylor by visiting her campaign website here.