If you listened to The Daily today, you got a good sense of the power dynamics in the fight over Wisconsin's election—but there's a central thing you didn't hear much about: the huge-stakes state Supreme Court race, Jill Karofsky (good) vs Dan Kelly (bad).
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Jill Karofsky has spent her life working to advance equal justice for all. She was a domestic violence special prosecutor. Ran the statewide office of crime victim services. Has been decorated and honored as a judge. Thinks and cares deeply about civil rights. #JillForJustice
Dan Kelly is a GOP activist lawyer. He defended Scott Walker in corruption trials, and defended Wisconsin's GOP-gerrymandered maps in court. Walker thanked him by appointing him Justice to fill a vacancy, despite no prior judicial experience. It's turned out exactly as you think:
Dan Kelly opposed stronger anti-corruption rules for judges. Kelly used to sit on the advisory board of a right-wing litigation shop, the WI Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL), and his campaigns are funded by WILL board members, but he refuses to recuse in cases that WILL brings.
Again and again and again—six times—he declined to recuse in WILL cases, and every single time, he ruled for WILL. The one time he recused was in WILL's suit to purge Wisconsin voters. But he's indicated he'll un-recuse after today's election. Which isn't a thing real judges do.
Trump keeps tweeting today about Dan Kelly and the second amendment. Kelly clearly thinks guns-everywhere extremism is still a winning formula. He overrode a local law & forced Madison to allow guns on public buses. He holds fundraisers at shooting ranges.
Dan Kelly's campaign is based out of the Republican Party of Wisconsin headquarters. Which is why I snorted when I saw an Americans For Prosperity flyer in my mailbox touting Kelly as "independent." (Yep, AFP is the Koch brothers outfit.) He's a GOP activist in judge's robes.
Karofsky is a lifelong public servant—and single mom and ironman triathlete. An amazing human being. And a great judge. In other words, a nightmare for the election-rigging GOP, who will clearly do anything to stop her from winning. Read about her: jillforjustice.com
I don't think it makes sense to call Wisconsin's election today a "primary." It's a general election for a powerful statewide judgeship. The GOP is treating it that way. Trump's name is on the ballot, but he's not talking about that—he's just focused on turnout for Dan Kelly.
As Democrats, we've been organizing in every corner of the state—door to door, previously, and now, given COVID-19, via calls / texts / social media / Zoom / mail. Not for the primary—we're aggressively neutral. For the general election, to help Jill Karofsky defeat Dan Kelly.
The Daily really nailed that what happens vis-a-vis voting rights in this election is a preview of the fights we'll have nationwide before November. But it's critical to remember that the substance of today's election has enormous stakes as well. So: Let's elect Jill Karofsky.
And then, once polls close in 6.5 hours, let's start learning every possible lesson and gear up for the fight of our lives this November.
If you listened to The Daily, you owe it to yourself to also read this—the definitive deep-dive on the Wisconsin GOP's decade-long voter disenfranchisement project. This is why there's an in-person election day in the middle of the pandemic.
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