Wisconsin’s 2026 Supreme Court election is a week away, and Wisconsin Court of Appeals judges Maria S. Lazar (District II) and Chris Taylor (District IV) are both running for a ten-year term. Incumbent Rebecca Bradley, a member of the Court's minority conservative bloc, is not running for re-election.
While the 2023 and 2025 elections broke records as the most expensive judicial races in U.S. history, this year’s race has been quieter and cheaper. Ideological control isn’t at stake, and the Court's liberal bloc is expected to have a majority until at least 2028. If Lazar wins, the Court would maintain its 4-3 liberal majority. If Taylor wins, the liberal majority would increase from 4-3 to 5-2.
Lazar describes herself as a constitutional conservative. She worked in the state's attorney general's office under J.B. Van Hollen (R). Taylor was a Democratic member of the Wisconsin Assembly from 2011-2020.
Today, we’re taking a look at what Lazar and Taylor have said about some of the major issues that may come before the court in the coming years. While these races are officially nonpartisan, candidates often take stances on specific issues and receive backing from the state's political parties.
Immigration
In interviews with PBS Wisconsin’s Zac Schultz, following the death of Alex Pretti in Minnesota, the candidates shared different opinions on the role the state’s court system should play in cases involving federal immigration officials.
Lazar said, “It is a federal issue… You never want to see anyone injured or lose their life. That’s a tragedy in all respects, in every case. But I think that cooler heads have to prevail. There is a right to First Amendment freedom of speech, but I also believe that this is an excellent example of why we need our courts, in this case it’s probably federal courts, but why we need our courts to be fair, impartial and independent, to look at the facts, to make a reasoned, calm decision, and to do so fairly and justly.”
Taylor “State courts absolutely could be involved, because criminal charges are brought in state courts typically. Nobody is above the law. The Constitution applies to everyone. And so, I think that we will see some involvement, or potentially see involvement, if there are criminal charges filed in the Minnesota state courts, and that could happen here in Wisconsin as well. ”
Act 10 and labor organizing
Another key issue that could come before the court is Act 10, a 2011 law signed by former Gov. Scott Walker (R), that ended collective bargaining rights for most public employees.
During her time in the state's attorney general's office, Lazar represented then-Secretary of State Douglas La Follette in a case on whether Act 10 was properly enacted. In response to whether she would recuse herself in related cases, Lazar said, “If the matter came about as to whether or not Act 10 was a properly enacted law, I would have to recuse myself. If the issues come up as to whether or not Act 10, the merits of Act 10, whether it’s constitutional, whether it applies to this group or that, there’s no basis for me to recuse on any of those.”
Taylor who was elected to the state Assembly in 2011, also said she would not recuse herself: “I greatly value the ability of working people to earn a decent wage and to be able to support their families and live their dreams. I don’t think that disqualifies me from hearing Act 10 if that gets to the state Supreme Court.”
Data centers
As we’ve discussed in previous editions of the Daily Brew, voters in multiple jurisdictions, including Janesville and Port Washington, Wisconsin, will decide on local ballot measures related to data center development this year. The candidates addressed the issue in interviews with KBXT3.
Lazar said she doesn’t have a judicial position or personal opinion on data centers, “I haven’t seen anything move up the line, and I have no real position judicially speaking as to data centers.”
Taylor also said that she can’t take a position on policies that may come before her, but that she thinks “Wisconsinites want the centers to be accountable. They want them to pay their fair share of electricity uses. They want them not to use water resources.”
Click here to see our full coverage of Wisconsin’s 2026 Supreme Court election.