Waukesha appellate judge Maria Lazar running for open seat on Wisconsin Supreme Court

WAUKESHA, Wis. (CIVIC MEDIA) – Maria Lazar has announced she’s running for next year’s open seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, as more money and attention are poured into the state’s judicial elections. 

Conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley’s term is up in 2027. Liberal appellate judge and former State Rep. Chris Taylor announced she’d be running against Bradley. 

At the end of August, Bradley announced she would not seek reelection. She called on the conservative coalition to “take stock of its failures, identify the problem, and fix it.” Liberal judges have won four of the last five Wisconsin Supreme Court elections. 

Now, a conservative contender is entering the race. Maria Lazar has been on the Second District Court of Appeals since 2022.

“I’m an independent, impartial judge who strives to follow the law and constitution in every decision I make from the bench,” Lazar said in a campaign video released Wednesday morning. “It is time to restore that level of judicial dedication to the court. That is precisely why I have decided to run for the open seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court.” 

The court currently has a 4-3 liberal majority. If a conservative candidate wins, that balance would stay the same. If a liberal candidate wins, the court would have a 5-2 liberal majority.