1 00:00:02,135 --> 00:00:04,638 The Wisconsin Supreme Court race is coming up, and 2 00:00:04,705 --> 00:00:07,174 polling shows a majority of you say you don't know 3 00:00:07,241 --> 00:00:10,777 enough about the candidates. Let's fix that. This is 4 00:00:10,844 --> 00:00:13,714 inside Wisconsin politics. my colleagues Zac Schultz 5 00:00:13,780 --> 00:00:16,583 and Rich Kremer. Hey, guys. >> Hello. Hey. 6 00:00:16,650 --> 00:00:19,186 >> So this is not something we're just making up here. 7 00:00:19,253 --> 00:00:20,854 There has been polling on this race, and the leading 8 00:00:20,921 --> 00:00:23,156 vote getter in that poll 9 00:00:24,191 --> 00:00:27,060 was a majority of people saying they don't know who 10 00:00:27,127 --> 00:00:29,296 they're going to support. That is so different than 11 00:00:29,363 --> 00:00:33,233 in 2023 and 2025, when we in Wisconsin were the Super 12 00:00:33,300 --> 00:00:36,236 Bowls of election for our Supreme Court races. So, 13 00:00:36,303 --> 00:00:38,238 Zac, what is the difference this year? 14 00:00:38,305 --> 00:00:39,873 >> Well, the simple difference is this isn't 15 00:00:39,940 --> 00:00:43,277 for the majority. The Liberals will have a four 16 00:00:43,343 --> 00:00:45,846 person majority for the next session no matter what. 17 00:00:45,913 --> 00:00:48,916 If Chris Taylor wins, it goes to five two. If Chris 18 00:00:48,982 --> 00:00:52,286 if Maria Lazar wins, it stays at 4 to 3. But that 19 00:00:52,352 --> 00:00:54,788 simply is the difference between $100 million in 20 00:00:54,855 --> 00:00:56,924 campaign and the attention of the world on this very 21 00:00:56,990 --> 00:00:59,793 important swing state, and the court's decisions on 22 00:00:59,860 --> 00:01:02,996 election laws versus a snooze fest, even in the 23 00:01:03,063 --> 00:01:05,599 state for people that normally tune in for these 24 00:01:05,666 --> 00:01:07,534 elections, are still trying to figure out, oh, when is 25 00:01:07,601 --> 00:01:09,937 that coming up? >> And that's not hyperbole 26 00:01:10,003 --> 00:01:13,140 either. That $100 million is a real number from last 27 00:01:13,207 --> 00:01:16,710 election, when we shattered the 2023 record, not just 28 00:01:16,777 --> 00:01:19,980 for Wisconsin, but for national judicial races. 29 00:01:20,047 --> 00:01:23,483 Rich. The 2025 race was the first one you'd covered 30 00:01:23,550 --> 00:01:28,021 really closely. What was a day in the life like on 31 00:01:28,589 --> 00:01:31,625 that one, and how does it compare to what you've 32 00:01:31,692 --> 00:01:34,294 observed in this Supreme Court race? 33 00:01:34,361 --> 00:01:38,532 >> I mean, it's like night and day. I covered a 34 00:01:38,599 --> 00:01:40,434 Republican, former Republican Attorney General 35 00:01:40,501 --> 00:01:44,705 Brad Schimel, spent a day with him on the campaign 36 00:01:44,771 --> 00:01:47,074 trail. And, you know, first off, the bat, he took money 37 00:01:47,140 --> 00:01:50,110 directly from the Republican Party of 38 00:01:50,177 --> 00:01:54,815 Wisconsin. Also, I was at a campaign event at the 39 00:01:54,882 --> 00:01:59,553 Republican Party in La Crosse, where Brad Schimel 40 00:01:59,620 --> 00:02:03,257 framed the race as a fight between good and evil. And 41 00:02:03,323 --> 00:02:07,594 he also used an analogy of driving the serpent out of 42 00:02:07,661 --> 00:02:11,999 the Garden of Eden. So the. The language used by 43 00:02:13,367 --> 00:02:16,036 Schimel is very different than what we've seen from 44 00:02:16,103 --> 00:02:20,040 Judge Lazar. She's promoting that she is the 45 00:02:20,107 --> 00:02:22,342 independent candidate compared to Chris Taylor, 46 00:02:22,409 --> 00:02:25,779 who she attacks as being an activist and former 47 00:02:25,846 --> 00:02:27,915 Democratic lawmaker. But she just hasn't made the 48 00:02:27,981 --> 00:02:31,218 same kind of statements that I've heard that 49 00:02:31,285 --> 00:02:34,388 Schimel did last year. >> It's almost like an old 50 00:02:34,454 --> 00:02:37,357 fashioned Supreme Court race in Wisconsin, Zac. 51 00:02:37,424 --> 00:02:40,127 >> It harkens back to a day where things weren't as 52 00:02:40,194 --> 00:02:42,763 heated, that your your TV wasn't filled with ads 53 00:02:42,829 --> 00:02:45,199 nonstop in the lead up to it, where you really did 54 00:02:45,265 --> 00:02:48,202 have to pay attention to learn who these people were. 55 00:02:48,268 --> 00:02:50,971 Now it's still Republican Democrat, you know, they 56 00:02:51,038 --> 00:02:53,240 may use the labels conservative, liberal, but 57 00:02:53,307 --> 00:02:56,076 Chris Taylor is a former legislative Democrat but 58 00:02:56,143 --> 00:03:00,047 now independent judge. But her connections to the 59 00:03:00,113 --> 00:03:02,883 Wisconsin Democratic Party to the Republican Party 60 00:03:02,950 --> 00:03:05,519 covered go deep. I've attended multiple events 61 00:03:05,586 --> 00:03:08,655 with her. She's been speaking at GOP rallies 62 00:03:08,722 --> 00:03:11,592 with the next speaker's Eric Toney running for 63 00:03:11,658 --> 00:03:13,260 attorney general. So it's not like either of these 64 00:03:13,327 --> 00:03:15,162 are running down independent lanes. They're 65 00:03:15,229 --> 00:03:17,598 still following that traditional the new path. 66 00:03:17,664 --> 00:03:19,833 If you want to become on the Supreme Court, you keep 67 00:03:19,900 --> 00:03:22,769 the political parties at arm's length in your name, 68 00:03:22,836 --> 00:03:24,838 but you take all the money under the table, you take 69 00:03:24,905 --> 00:03:27,040 all the effort for grassroots, because that 70 00:03:27,107 --> 00:03:29,643 really matters when when it comes to getting people out 71 00:03:29,710 --> 00:03:31,745 to vote, those turnout operations, those dollar 72 00:03:31,812 --> 00:03:33,714 operations still belong to the parties. There is no 73 00:03:33,780 --> 00:03:35,883 independent structure for anyone to remain 74 00:03:35,949 --> 00:03:38,218 independent and actually win a campaign. 75 00:03:38,285 --> 00:03:40,821 >> So let's talk about the candidates here. Let's 76 00:03:40,888 --> 00:03:43,924 start with Chris Taylor. She got into the race first. 77 00:03:43,991 --> 00:03:47,761 Zac, what should people know about Chris Taylor's 78 00:03:47,828 --> 00:03:50,464 background and what led her to this point? 79 00:03:50,531 --> 00:03:54,034 >> Well, the the clearest thing is she had worked for 80 00:03:54,101 --> 00:03:57,070 abortion rights groups before she became a member 81 00:03:57,137 --> 00:03:59,806 of the legislature. She ran as a Democrat and Assembly 82 00:03:59,873 --> 00:04:02,910 race in the Dane County area. I covered that race 83 00:04:02,976 --> 00:04:05,846 way back when she was here through a lot of tumultuous 84 00:04:05,913 --> 00:04:09,283 times in the Capitol, and then she left. She was 85 00:04:09,349 --> 00:04:12,119 appointed Dane County judge by Governor Evers. Then she 86 00:04:12,186 --> 00:04:14,922 ran for the appellate court and became a judge there, 87 00:04:14,988 --> 00:04:17,257 which is what she's doing today. So she has followed 88 00:04:17,324 --> 00:04:21,061 the judicial pattern, but she's got heavy partizan 89 00:04:21,128 --> 00:04:23,163 activity in her background, and she doesn't deny that. 90 00:04:23,230 --> 00:04:25,098 But like every judge or justice, she wouldn't be 91 00:04:25,165 --> 00:04:28,135 the first one. I mean, former Justice Prosser 92 00:04:28,202 --> 00:04:30,404 served as the Assembly speaker for Republicans. 93 00:04:30,470 --> 00:04:33,407 And back in the day when they could say, well, I'm a 94 00:04:33,473 --> 00:04:35,909 conservative justice, not a conservative politician 95 00:04:35,976 --> 00:04:38,011 with Chris Taylor in this modern environment, I don't 96 00:04:38,078 --> 00:04:40,080 know if it really matters because the candidates are 97 00:04:40,147 --> 00:04:42,149 so tied to the parties anyway that her background 98 00:04:42,216 --> 00:04:44,952 doesn't seem to have any baggage. And we saw with 99 00:04:45,018 --> 00:04:47,020 Brad Schimel Rich, as you were talking about last 100 00:04:47,087 --> 00:04:48,989 year, he's a former Republican attorney general 101 00:04:49,056 --> 00:04:51,158 for Wisconsin, and he did not shy away from those 102 00:04:51,225 --> 00:04:53,594 Republican connections. But you see a difference with 103 00:04:53,660 --> 00:04:55,596 Lazar and how she's handled herself. Rich. 104 00:04:55,662 --> 00:04:59,800 The so Lazar has been focusing on her career in 105 00:04:59,867 --> 00:05:04,538 the courtroom. She's been a lawyer since 1989. She 106 00:05:06,073 --> 00:05:08,475 worked for the Department of Justice under former 107 00:05:08,542 --> 00:05:12,446 Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, and that 108 00:05:12,513 --> 00:05:16,450 was in the early years of Republican control of state 109 00:05:16,517 --> 00:05:19,620 governments. So after 2011, when a lot of laws were 110 00:05:19,686 --> 00:05:23,657 passed that wound up in court, Democrats tried to 111 00:05:23,724 --> 00:05:28,395 sue to stop the voting maps passed by Republicans, 112 00:05:28,462 --> 00:05:33,000 abortion restrictions and act ten. So Maria Lazar, as 113 00:05:33,066 --> 00:05:38,605 an assistant DOJ attorney, was representing the state 114 00:05:38,672 --> 00:05:42,643 and defending those, and she was elected to the 115 00:05:42,709 --> 00:05:46,013 Waukesha County Circuit Court. But that was the 116 00:05:46,079 --> 00:05:49,650 both of her races. There were unopposed. And then in 117 00:05:49,716 --> 00:05:53,220 2022, she became a judge on the second District Court 118 00:05:53,287 --> 00:05:57,925 of Appeals. So but to your point, yes, she's she's 119 00:05:57,991 --> 00:06:01,728 leaning on her, you know, her experience in the 120 00:06:01,795 --> 00:06:05,032 courtroom, but also, you know, her political ads 121 00:06:05,098 --> 00:06:07,835 kind of let you know where she stands on certain 122 00:06:07,901 --> 00:06:10,537 things, or at least where her campaign does. So 123 00:06:10,604 --> 00:06:12,906 there's plenty of signals out there. 124 00:06:12,973 --> 00:06:14,975 >> You know, some of these candidates, when they run 125 00:06:15,042 --> 00:06:18,378 for Supreme Court, they come from the law, and 126 00:06:18,445 --> 00:06:21,114 maybe you're hearing about them for the first time or 127 00:06:21,181 --> 00:06:23,217 getting introduced to them for the first time. But, 128 00:06:23,283 --> 00:06:25,586 you know, Chris Taylor and Maria Lazar, as you both 129 00:06:25,652 --> 00:06:28,055 mentioned, have been around for a little while. I 130 00:06:28,121 --> 00:06:31,625 remember Maria Lazar defending Republican drawn 131 00:06:31,692 --> 00:06:35,963 legislative maps in 2012 alongside co-counsel Dan 132 00:06:36,029 --> 00:06:39,933 Kelly, who former Supreme Court justice and who ran 133 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:43,837 in a couple races in lost. I remember Chris Taylor 134 00:06:43,904 --> 00:06:48,075 very well for her role in the minority on the 135 00:06:48,141 --> 00:06:50,077 Legislature's Budget Committee, where if you 136 00:06:50,143 --> 00:06:53,146 have that position, you are expected to be able to talk 137 00:06:53,213 --> 00:06:57,184 and defend every position and and attack the 138 00:06:57,251 --> 00:06:59,920 majority's position aggressively. And so she 139 00:06:59,987 --> 00:07:02,155 did that. Well, she wasn't just a backbencher 140 00:07:02,222 --> 00:07:04,458 legislator. She was the person who was on that 141 00:07:04,525 --> 00:07:08,028 front line of attack. And, you know, since we've since 142 00:07:08,095 --> 00:07:10,931 she's become a judge, that's changed. And she has 143 00:07:10,998 --> 00:07:12,900 indicated and her friends have indicated, look, she 144 00:07:12,966 --> 00:07:16,170 knows this is a different role in court, but it is 145 00:07:16,236 --> 00:07:19,306 striking a very big change for her to go from that, 146 00:07:19,373 --> 00:07:22,276 you know, attack, attack, attack. Democratic 147 00:07:22,342 --> 00:07:27,047 legislator to a judge who sees things differently. 148 00:07:27,114 --> 00:07:29,917 You mentioned those ads, Rich for Maria Lazar. She 149 00:07:29,983 --> 00:07:34,721 is trying to go for this kind of above it all judge, 150 00:07:34,788 --> 00:07:38,125 you know, I don't want to get into politics. The ads, 151 00:07:38,192 --> 00:07:39,993 they tell a different story, though. I mean, she's 152 00:07:40,060 --> 00:07:44,131 definitely not going that way with her campaign. 153 00:07:44,198 --> 00:07:48,101 >> Yeah, the ads have focused on basically 154 00:07:48,902 --> 00:07:52,239 attacking Taylor, things like abortion, lasers, 155 00:07:52,306 --> 00:07:55,442 campaign ads say that, you know, Taylor wants abortion 156 00:07:55,509 --> 00:07:58,178 up to the moment of birth, which is a line you've 157 00:07:58,245 --> 00:08:02,549 heard a lot of Republicans say over the years. And the 158 00:08:02,616 --> 00:08:07,254 latest one that I think just came out this week, 159 00:08:07,321 --> 00:08:09,756 features a woman saying that she's afraid of her 160 00:08:09,823 --> 00:08:12,626 daughter having to compete against biological men in 161 00:08:12,693 --> 00:08:16,897 in school sports, which. >> Republican themes pulled 162 00:08:16,964 --> 00:08:19,399 right from congressional races and state assembly 163 00:08:19,466 --> 00:08:22,035 races, governor races hitting the points that 164 00:08:22,102 --> 00:08:25,239 work for them. >> Yeah. So the ad lays out 165 00:08:25,305 --> 00:08:28,108 the the political part of it. And then you've got a 166 00:08:28,175 --> 00:08:31,011 picture of Lazar saying that she'll uphold the law. 167 00:08:31,078 --> 00:08:33,881 So it seems like she's still trying to walk that 168 00:08:33,947 --> 00:08:37,217 line. But, you know, the ads do send a signal. 169 00:08:37,284 --> 00:08:39,920 >> Well, so let me let me ask you you. So we've seen 170 00:08:39,987 --> 00:08:42,923 low turnout elections in the past. And that was at a 171 00:08:42,990 --> 00:08:45,425 time when conservatives really won a lot of these 172 00:08:45,492 --> 00:08:48,362 races, when there was lower turnout, when there 173 00:08:48,428 --> 00:08:51,131 consistent voters from the suburbs of Milwaukee came 174 00:08:51,198 --> 00:08:53,767 out to vote no matter what. And the Liberal candidates 175 00:08:53,834 --> 00:08:56,069 really struggled to get the attention that they needed 176 00:08:56,136 --> 00:08:58,472 to win these races. And then we saw things flip 177 00:08:58,539 --> 00:09:01,909 from Rebecca Dallet on in 2018. So what do you see as 178 00:09:01,975 --> 00:09:04,511 the impact of less attention right now on this 179 00:09:04,578 --> 00:09:07,381 race? >> I think we'll find out 180 00:09:08,248 --> 00:09:11,318 what a less attention race means here. I think though, 181 00:09:11,385 --> 00:09:15,355 in the era of Donald Trump, for one, you know, since 182 00:09:15,422 --> 00:09:18,125 Donald Trump realigned the Republican Party and its 183 00:09:18,192 --> 00:09:22,162 base of voters, a base that reliably reelected 184 00:09:22,229 --> 00:09:26,200 conservative justices for many years up until around 185 00:09:26,266 --> 00:09:30,070 2017, we don't know what that shift is going to mean 186 00:09:30,137 --> 00:09:32,940 in a lower turnout election, but we know that 187 00:09:33,006 --> 00:09:35,475 conservatives start out as kind of a structural 188 00:09:35,542 --> 00:09:38,779 disadvantage in these races. And we also know that 189 00:09:38,846 --> 00:09:41,648 liberals have just found a pattern for what it takes 190 00:09:41,715 --> 00:09:45,118 to run, talk about their values. They're not afraid 191 00:09:45,185 --> 00:09:48,956 to talk about cases that have happened. They are not 192 00:09:49,022 --> 00:09:52,059 afraid to talk about women's health. And it's 193 00:09:52,125 --> 00:09:55,395 just been a winning formula for them in, you know, 194 00:09:55,462 --> 00:09:59,867 really since 2018, with one exception in 2019 that has 195 00:09:59,933 --> 00:10:03,270 been the liberal path to victory year in and year 196 00:10:03,337 --> 00:10:07,174 out. So there have been a couple cases that you have 197 00:10:07,241 --> 00:10:10,043 asked both candidates about where you actually got to 198 00:10:10,110 --> 00:10:12,980 hear them. You gave them a chance anyway to weigh in 199 00:10:13,046 --> 00:10:15,816 on some very high profile races that came before the 200 00:10:15,883 --> 00:10:19,119 Wisconsin Supreme Court. Let's look at those if we 201 00:10:19,186 --> 00:10:22,823 can. There was one about the 2020 election, which we 202 00:10:22,890 --> 00:10:25,158 will be talking about forever as reporters, I 203 00:10:25,225 --> 00:10:28,428 think. And this is a there were a lot of challenges to 204 00:10:28,495 --> 00:10:31,832 the election results and to Joe Biden's victory in 205 00:10:31,899 --> 00:10:33,934 Wisconsin that came before the Wisconsin Supreme Court. 206 00:10:34,001 --> 00:10:37,037 What did you ask the candidates? 207 00:10:37,104 --> 00:10:39,439 ultimately decided, that election in Wisconsin was 208 00:10:39,506 --> 00:10:42,109 called Trump v Biden, and it was brought by Trump's 209 00:10:42,176 --> 00:10:44,244 lawyers, one of which was Jim Troupis, who is 210 00:10:44,311 --> 00:10:47,147 currently being prosecuted in Dane County Court for 211 00:10:47,214 --> 00:10:49,416 forgery related to the false electors thing tied 212 00:10:49,483 --> 00:10:52,052 in around the same time period. 213 00:10:52,119 --> 00:10:55,389 in law. >> Especially in political 214 00:10:55,455 --> 00:10:57,558 times. But yes, that case went all the way to the 215 00:10:57,624 --> 00:10:59,726 Supreme Court. And the question was the Trump 216 00:10:59,793 --> 00:11:01,662 administration or the Trump campaign wanted to throw 217 00:11:01,728 --> 00:11:04,198 out 200,000 votes in Wisconsin, specifically in 218 00:11:04,264 --> 00:11:07,167 Dane and Milwaukee counties regarding absentee ballots. 219 00:11:07,234 --> 00:11:09,803 And the question before the Supreme Court was, should 220 00:11:09,870 --> 00:11:12,206 they even take the case? So the question was standing 221 00:11:12,272 --> 00:11:15,542 in the legal sense of did Donald Trump and his 222 00:11:15,609 --> 00:11:18,178 campaign have a legal right to even file a lawsuit in 223 00:11:18,245 --> 00:11:21,381 the first place? Ultimately, it was A43 decision. And 224 00:11:21,448 --> 00:11:23,317 this is a time when conservatives controlled 225 00:11:23,383 --> 00:11:26,186 the court 4 to 3 that said, no, we won't take the case. 226 00:11:26,253 --> 00:11:29,189 It was Bryan Hagedorn who ultimately sided with the 227 00:11:29,256 --> 00:11:31,358 three Liberals to throw out the case. That solidified 228 00:11:31,425 --> 00:11:35,562 the win. Biden won Wisconsin definitively, 229 00:11:36,830 --> 00:11:38,999 damned. And it was the three conservatives who 230 00:11:39,066 --> 00:11:41,768 didn't necessarily say they would have thrown out the 231 00:11:41,835 --> 00:11:43,904 votes. But they said we should at least hear the 232 00:11:43,971 --> 00:11:46,073 case. When I asked both candidates about this, 233 00:11:46,139 --> 00:11:48,775 Chris Taylor was absolutely on the side of the Liberal 234 00:11:48,842 --> 00:11:50,744 candidates, saying, of course they made the right 235 00:11:50,811 --> 00:11:52,813 decision and they never should have thrown out 236 00:11:52,880 --> 00:11:54,848 those votes, should have never gotten that far. It 237 00:11:54,915 --> 00:11:56,984 was Maria Lazar who really didn't want to take a 238 00:11:57,050 --> 00:12:00,087 position on it. But she said the issue of standing 239 00:12:00,153 --> 00:12:02,890 is still going to come back before this court, which is 240 00:12:02,956 --> 00:12:05,092 true. And she wouldn't even go the one step further. I 241 00:12:05,158 --> 00:12:07,861 asked her point blank, like, are people going to hear 242 00:12:07,928 --> 00:12:09,963 this answer and say, well, what about the 200,000 243 00:12:10,030 --> 00:12:12,866 votes that were going to get thrown out? And she 244 00:12:12,933 --> 00:12:15,802 said, well, I don't want to weigh in on that. I don't 245 00:12:15,869 --> 00:12:18,038 want to talk about that. And that was just a place 246 00:12:18,105 --> 00:12:20,741 she wasn't willing to go. And the Democratic Party 247 00:12:20,807 --> 00:12:23,110 and Taylor's campaign that, saying she's still 248 00:12:23,177 --> 00:12:25,078 connected to election deniers and conspiracy and 249 00:12:25,145 --> 00:12:27,047 this whole issue. So, you know, the 2020 election 250 00:12:27,114 --> 00:12:29,483 will not go away. It's still present. And it's 251 00:12:29,550 --> 00:12:32,052 present in their answers, too. 252 00:12:32,119 --> 00:12:34,988 things can be true. That is a position that a lawyer 253 00:12:35,055 --> 00:12:37,891 can take that look, this has to deal with standing. 254 00:12:37,958 --> 00:12:40,093 We're not going to get into it. Another thing that is 255 00:12:40,160 --> 00:12:44,131 undeniably true is that there are people in Maria 256 00:12:44,198 --> 00:12:46,900 Lazaro's base, or the conservative base, who have 257 00:12:46,967 --> 00:12:50,137 strong feelings about the 2020 election. 258 00:12:50,204 --> 00:12:54,541 >> Yeah, they absolutely do. So in 2022, she was 259 00:12:55,475 --> 00:12:58,145 endorsed by people. She was attacked for being endorsed 260 00:12:58,212 --> 00:13:00,848 by people like Michael Gableman and also for 261 00:13:00,914 --> 00:13:04,117 associating with Troupis. Gableman is a former 262 00:13:04,184 --> 00:13:08,655 Supreme Court justice who led the 2020 election 263 00:13:09,723 --> 00:13:13,160 investigation. That was kind of widely panned. And 264 00:13:13,227 --> 00:13:17,297 also he was fired by Assembly Robin Assembly 265 00:13:17,364 --> 00:13:20,534 Speaker Robin Vos, who had hired him before. I mean, 266 00:13:20,601 --> 00:13:25,172 it was a whole thing. So she's still getting us hit 267 00:13:26,673 --> 00:13:29,910 for even associating with those two people. But yeah, 268 00:13:29,977 --> 00:13:32,012 the standing issue, the other thing that comes to 269 00:13:32,079 --> 00:13:34,948 mind is I, you know, we've heard the president, 270 00:13:35,015 --> 00:13:38,185 President Donald Trump, say, well, you know, all those 271 00:13:38,252 --> 00:13:40,554 cases, they never looked at the cases. They just found 272 00:13:40,621 --> 00:13:42,589 these technicalities and they tossed them out. 273 00:13:42,656 --> 00:13:45,359 That's not true. There was plenty of cases that were 274 00:13:45,425 --> 00:13:48,662 dismissed on the merits, lack of evidence, etc. but 275 00:13:48,729 --> 00:13:51,665 it just kind of reminded me of that when I heard that 276 00:13:51,732 --> 00:13:53,700 answer from Lazar. And I've seen that same answer from 277 00:13:53,767 --> 00:13:56,537 a lot of people who do believe that the 2020 278 00:13:56,603 --> 00:13:58,705 election was stolen. >> And Zak, I feel like we 279 00:13:58,772 --> 00:14:01,041 can't talk about a court race in Wisconsin these 280 00:14:01,108 --> 00:14:03,911 days without talking about the issue of abortion. 281 00:14:03,977 --> 00:14:06,880 That's another one where you ask the candidates 282 00:14:06,947 --> 00:14:09,650 about their positions. What was your question and how 283 00:14:09,716 --> 00:14:11,919 did they handle. >> That specifically? The 284 00:14:11,985 --> 00:14:14,021 question was, how would they have decided if they 285 00:14:14,087 --> 00:14:17,090 had been on the court when Kohl versus Urmanski was 286 00:14:17,157 --> 00:14:20,227 brought before the court? To be clear, that was the 287 00:14:20,294 --> 00:14:23,096 case that looked to throw out the 1849 abortion ban 288 00:14:23,163 --> 00:14:26,800 from Wisconsin. That was the attorney general suing 289 00:14:26,867 --> 00:14:28,902 Sheboygan. That wasn't the point. It was that was what 290 00:14:28,969 --> 00:14:32,172 the case was called for. Three the Liberal majority 291 00:14:32,239 --> 00:14:34,942 throughout that law said it was annulled essentially by 292 00:14:35,008 --> 00:14:37,611 laws passed after that, specifically won by Scott 293 00:14:37,678 --> 00:14:40,781 Walker and the Republicans. And Chris Taylor said it 294 00:14:40,848 --> 00:14:44,017 was absolutely the correct decision. Maria Lazar once 295 00:14:44,084 --> 00:14:46,453 again didn't say how she would have voted, but she 296 00:14:46,520 --> 00:14:49,389 she kind of answered it in the end of her answer by 297 00:14:49,456 --> 00:14:52,192 saying, well, if I win, it'll still be A43 court. 298 00:14:52,259 --> 00:14:54,795 So my. I wouldn't have changed the outcome of that 299 00:14:54,862 --> 00:14:57,865 case, which sounds a lot like her saying she would 300 00:14:57,931 --> 00:14:59,900 have decided with the conservatives on the case, 301 00:14:59,967 --> 00:15:01,835 which really shouldn't be all that shocking. Those 302 00:15:01,902 --> 00:15:04,838 are who her colleagues would be if she wins and 303 00:15:04,905 --> 00:15:06,940 then another conservative wins, then she would be in 304 00:15:07,007 --> 00:15:09,776 the majority. And who knows that? That is the question 305 00:15:09,843 --> 00:15:11,845 that Taylor and other people are saying was if 306 00:15:11,912 --> 00:15:13,847 the court flips again, will abortion rights come up 307 00:15:13,914 --> 00:15:16,617 before the court? I will say Lazar finished her 308 00:15:16,683 --> 00:15:18,719 answer by saying, however, she views that Supreme 309 00:15:18,785 --> 00:15:20,988 Court decision as final and that the abortion issue is 310 00:15:21,054 --> 00:15:23,490 settled as far as the courts are determined. 311 00:15:23,557 --> 00:15:25,659 Obviously, it's not settled when it comes to 312 00:15:25,726 --> 00:15:27,895 gubernatorial and legislative elections. So 313 00:15:27,961 --> 00:15:29,963 those will still play out. And we're going to be 314 00:15:30,030 --> 00:15:32,866 covering a lot of that coming up. But their 315 00:15:32,933 --> 00:15:35,068 answers kind of fell into the camps that you might 316 00:15:35,135 --> 00:15:36,703 expect them to, especially given their messaging and 317 00:15:36,770 --> 00:15:39,339 ads. another finding in the 318 00:15:40,073 --> 00:15:42,309 Marquette poll that we recently covered that, you 319 00:15:42,376 --> 00:15:44,511 know, it's hard to say where people stand on the 320 00:15:44,578 --> 00:15:47,347 candidates when more than half of voters say they 321 00:15:47,414 --> 00:15:49,550 don't know. But what we did see, what you saw. There's 322 00:15:49,616 --> 00:15:53,320 a lot of tells in there about which side is more 323 00:15:53,387 --> 00:15:56,223 enthusiastic right now at this moment in time. 324 00:15:56,290 --> 00:15:58,825 >> Yeah. Big time. There was a big disparity in 325 00:15:58,892 --> 00:16:01,828 terms of who's excited to vote in the April 7th 326 00:16:01,895 --> 00:16:04,264 election. So some numbers I'll run off here. People 327 00:16:04,331 --> 00:16:07,534 saying that there are certain to vote on April 328 00:16:07,601 --> 00:16:12,272 7th. Democrats are up 18 points over Republicans. 329 00:16:12,940 --> 00:16:16,143 How important the election is to the outcome or how 330 00:16:16,210 --> 00:16:18,979 important is the election outcome to you? That was a 331 00:16:19,046 --> 00:16:22,182 19 point spread in Democrats favor as well. So 332 00:16:22,249 --> 00:16:24,418 there's all kinds of metrics. And not to mention 333 00:16:24,484 --> 00:16:27,154 that President Trump had his lowest net negative 334 00:16:27,221 --> 00:16:31,124 approval rating in Marquette poll history. So 335 00:16:31,191 --> 00:16:33,861 those are all some headwinds for conservative 336 00:16:33,927 --> 00:16:35,662 candidates. >> Zack, I guess against 337 00:16:35,729 --> 00:16:39,333 that backdrop, what can Maria Lazar point to and 338 00:16:39,399 --> 00:16:42,769 say? I got a good chance. Nonetheless. 339 00:16:42,836 --> 00:16:45,372 >> The quick answer is she's relying on Hagedorn's 340 00:16:45,439 --> 00:16:48,942 race from 2019. Like her, he was another conservative 341 00:16:49,009 --> 00:16:51,578 candidate who was vastly outspent and written off 342 00:16:51,645 --> 00:16:54,014 towards the end of the race. People thought that he was 343 00:16:54,081 --> 00:16:56,250 not going to win, so much so that the Liberal 344 00:16:56,316 --> 00:16:59,052 candidate at the time really took her foot off 345 00:16:59,119 --> 00:17:01,221 the pedal. When it came to running through the finish 346 00:17:01,288 --> 00:17:03,290 line. Lazar directly points to that race and says, 347 00:17:03,357 --> 00:17:06,193 that's the path to follow. That's get out the vote. 348 00:17:06,260 --> 00:17:08,161 That's grassroots advocacy. If we can't win on ads, we 349 00:17:08,228 --> 00:17:11,098 have to make sure our voters get to the polls, 350 00:17:11,164 --> 00:17:13,033 especially in a lower turnout election. Taylor 351 00:17:13,100 --> 00:17:15,102 said she's aware of it. She's going to run through 352 00:17:15,169 --> 00:17:17,304 the tape, not letting off the pedal at all. 353 00:17:17,371 --> 00:17:20,207 >> And she is running a different kind of race than 354 00:17:20,274 --> 00:17:22,943 the judge Neubauer, who ran in that year's race, you 355 00:17:23,010 --> 00:17:25,145 know, ran I mean, you mentioned it taking your 356 00:17:25,212 --> 00:17:28,148 feet off the pedal. She ran more like a judge than a 357 00:17:28,215 --> 00:17:31,051 candidate, I guess, in that race. So we'll see how that 358 00:17:31,118 --> 00:17:34,121 plays out in the closing days. Thanks for joining us 359 00:17:34,188 --> 00:17:37,257 for this week's Inside Wisconsin Politics. Our 360 00:17:37,324 --> 00:17:39,359 Wagtendonk. We'll be back next week. Be sure to 361 00:17:39,426 --> 00:17:43,630 follow us on PBS Wisconsin. Org. Org YouTube or 362 00:17:43,697 --> 00:17:46,600 wherever you get your podcasts.