Once again, most judicial races lack competition

By Margo Kirchner
 
Just eight of 38 circuit court judicial races in Wisconsin this spring are contested.
 
Notably, not one of the six Milwaukee County judges up for election is challenged.
 
Waukesha County and Jefferson County will be campaign hot spots, though, with two contested circuit court races each.
 
St. Croix County will have a primary on Feb. 18, as three candidates vie for the seat that opened when Judge Edward Vlack chose not to run for reelection. The Wisconsin Elections Commission's Jan. 8 candidate tracking report indicates that James Jamie Johnson, Heather Amos, and Brian Smestad are preliminarily approved for the election.

Candidates had until the end of the business on Jan. 7 to file their nomination papers and enough valid signatures to get on the ballot. The Jan. 8 report shows candidates who appear to have met the filing requirements, but submissions are still subject to challenge and await official approval by the commission. The commission is scheduled to meet on Jan. 14 to finalize the list of candidates. 
 
Provided that Cortney Iverson’s submitted signatures and required Statement of Economic Interests form are approved, Jefferson County Branch 2 also will have a primary on Feb. 18, with Jennifer Weber and Iverson taking on recently appointed Theresa Beck.
 
The top two finishers in each primary will advance to the general election on April 1.
 
Contested races with two candidates for the April 1 election:

• Jefferson County Branch 1: Will Gruber (incumbent) and John Jack Chavez
• La Crosse County: Joe Veenstra and Eric Sanford (open seat)
• Marinette County: Peggy Miller (incumbent) and DeShea Morrow
• Racine County: Jon Frederickson (incumbent) and Jamie McClendon
• Waukesha County Branch 4: Bridget Schoenborn (incumbent) and David Maas
• Waukesha County Branch 6: Zach Wittchow and Fred Strampe (open seat)

 
Three of 16 court of appeals judges are up for reelection, none challenged: Mark Gundrum in District 2, Lisa Stark in District 3, and Jennifer Nashold in District 4.
 
You’ve likely heard about the contested race for the open Wisconsin Supreme Court seat due to Justice Ann Walsh Bradley’s retirement. Brad Schimel and Susan Crawford have been campaigning for months and have been preliminarily approved for the election. No surprise additional candidate filed nomination papers by the deadline.
 
Wisconsin Justice Initiative will ask all candidates in contested races to complete questionnaires about their work experience, judicial philosophy, and desire to be a judge. Look for their answers in the WJI blog in February and March.