Democrats likely to expand their Wisconsin Supreme Court majority

With a lot less drama this time:

Wisconsin Republicans are bracing for a lopsided state Supreme Court race next week, as liberals are all but expected to expand their majority. It underscores how the state GOP has struggled to compete in critical elections over nearly the last decade. 

Democratic-backed judicial candidate Chris Taylor leads the conservative favorite, Maria Lazar, in recent polling, and Taylor’s campaign has outraised her opponent by a roughly 5-to-1 margin in the race that will determine whether the Wisconsin Supreme Court remains a 4-3 liberal majority or expands to 5-2 edge. 

The unusually sleepy nature of Tuesday’s judicial race comes as Wisconsin Republicans have struggled to match the Badger State’s Democrats in state party apparatus and fundraising abilities in recent years. 

“The [conservative] campaign apparatus is really degraded over the course of the last 10 years or so, particularly in the … fundraising side of things,” said Republican strategist Ben Voelkel, a former longtime aide to Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who once ran for lieutenant governor. 

“The state party really does not have the same kind of money, oomph, that it has had in the past, certainly not what Democrats have going now.” 

The relatively low-profile nature of the race is excellent news for Democrats above and beyond the polls, given that they now have a higher-propensity-turnout base. Still, maybe Elon could make a couple of appearances in Wisconsin for old time’s sake. Remember absolutely kicking his ass after he tried to buy the election last year? That was awesome.