Conservative Maria Lazar Enters Wisconsin Supreme Court Race

Maria Lazar, a conservative Wisconsin Court of Appeals judge and former Waukesha County judge and assistant attorney general, announced she is running for the Wisconsin Supreme Court seat being vacated by Justice Rebecca Bradley. Lazar frames her campaign as a bid to stop the “politicization” and “destruction” of the courts and presents herself as an independent, impartial jurist, while criticizing liberal Appeals Court Judge Chris Taylor — a former Democratic state lawmaker and the likely opponent — as having a political background. Lazar has defended Republican policies including voter ID laws, Act 10 limits on collective bargaining and GOP-drawn legislative maps. The April 2026 contest follows two recent, record-spending Supreme Court races that shifted control to a 4-3 liberal majority and could determine how the court rules on issues such as abortion, collective bargaining, congressional redistricting and election rules. She is the first conservative to enter the race, which is expected to be closely watched though it may not reach the same spending levels as prior contests.