Fitzgerald, we leave it there. Thank you so much.
>> Thank you. Good to be with you.
>> Turning to the spring election for the Wisconsin
Supreme Court, the seat opening up after
Conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley decided not
to run again will not change the balance of the
court. The conservative candidate is appellate
court judge Maria Lazar, and the Liberal candidate
is appellate court Judge Chris Taylor. Here and now,
senior political reporter Zac Schultz sat down with
each of the candidates last week. We heard from Maria
Lazar tonight, Chris Taylor. >> Judge Taylor, thanks for
your time today. >> Thanks so much for
having me. I really appreciate it.
judicial philosophy. Tell me how you came by it and
how it impacts you when you're on the bench.
>> Well, in every case, I'm guided by the same things.
I'm guided by a desire to do justice for the people
who are in front of me. I'm guided by a obligation to
apply the law as fairly and as consistently as possible.
And then I'm also obligated to hold those who violate
the law accountable, regardless of who they are
or how how powerful they are. So those are really
the three principles that guide us. My decisions in
cases. >> So you've been in this
race for a while, and originally your opponent
was going to be the incumbent, Justice Rebecca
Bradley. What was your reaction when she decided
not to run again? >> You know, my focus
really is on the people, the state of Wisconsin,
regardless of who my opponent is. I am in this
race because I care deeply about the people in our
state. They deserve a justice and a court that is
going to stand up for their rights and protect their
freedoms, and they deserve a court that is going to
make sure that the other branches of government are
held accountable, including the federal government,
when they overreach into the independence of our
state. So I'm very focused on getting to the people,
talking with the people. My approach doesn't change
based on who I'm running against. This is a campaign
about the people of the state of Wisconsin, and I'm
going to be a justice for the people of the state of
Wisconsin. you don't see a big
difference between Rebecca Bradley and Maria Lazar
your opponent. >> Now. You know, I think
they're very similar in a lot of ways. They have very
extreme positions that are out of touch with the
people. Wisconsin on reproductive health care.
My opponent, Maria Lazar, celebrated the overturning
of Roe versus Wade. She has made comments that she
would have enforced an 1849 criminal ban that would
have outlawed abortion. In almost every instance, she
has made comments that she thinks a six week abortion
ban would be a good thing, signaling to the
legislature that this might be a law that she would be
okay with as a judge. So those things indicate that
she cannot be counted on to protect rights and freedoms
of Wisconsinites. And she wants to take us backwards.
I want to take the state and the people of the state
forward. >> Given the last couple of
races we've seen in Wisconsin, how much money
do you think it's going to take to win this race?
>> You know, I'm hoping not as much as what we have
seen. It has gotten ridiculous how much money
are in these races. And when I was in the
legislature, I fought against the erosion of our
campaign finance laws. The reality is, here in
Wisconsin, we have very little laws that prevent
these out-of-state billionaires and big money
special interests from coming into this race.
They're going to be coming in to support my opponent.
That is how she got elected to the Court of Appeals.
These same right wing billionaires that we saw
last April have supported her in the past.
>> The first fundraising numbers that came out
showed you with a commanding lead in
fundraising. Is there a danger that some of your
supporters may think, oh, this race is over?
>> I hope not, because this race is not over. We are
right in the thick of it. I take nothing for granted. I
worked very hard to get out in all corners of the state,
and of course my campaign worked very hard to raise
the resources that I would need out of my, I think,
19,000 campaign contributions, 15,000 of
those are $100 or less. So I am receiving a lot of
support from the people of the state of Wisconsin.
That contrasts with my opponent. Her average
campaign donation was $1,800, and she only had 16
donations that were $100 or less. So she's clearly
getting her support and will continue to do so from
the billionaires, from the big corporations. I'm going
to the people and asking for their support because
this race is about them. >> Unlike the last couple
of races, this one's not going to likely determine
the majority on on the bench. Does that run the
risk that this flies under the radar for some people
because they don't feel the stakes are as high?
>> I mean, I don't think so because the majority on
this court can be changed on a dime. We have five
state Supreme Court elections coming up. And so
just because there's now a pro-democracy majority on
this court by only one vote does not lessen the
importance of this court. And when we have so many
elections coming up, there's four more state
Supreme Court elections coming up after mine. No
one should take anything for granted. This court can
change very quickly, but if I am able to get elected,
there will be a pro-democracy majority on
the court until at least 2030.
>> A couple of years ago, when Janet Protasiewicz won
her race, she kind of changed the game in terms
of talking as a candidate about her values versus
issues and making sure to stay away from how she
would decide. But explaining to voters, this
is what I care about. This is what I'm passionate
about. How do you approach talking about your values
or issues? >> Well, I think it's
really important that voters see who I am and
they deserve that. They are electing me to a ten year
term to the highest court in our state. So I am very
open about what my values are. You know, I value
every person's ability to make their own personal
private health care decisions. My opponent does
not. She has stated that that is not a value that
she has. I value courts protecting people's rights
and freedoms and holding people and entities
accountable when they violate our law and violate
our Constitution. My opponent has shown that she
is a rubber stamp for the most powerful and the right
wing extremists in the decisions that she has
issued. And so I think it's really fair game for the
public to know. These things are things we value.
>> How do you approach precedent? Because we've
seen as the court shifted majorities over the last
few years, a number of cases looking at old cases
that have been settled in the past, Marklein being
one of those. But in that category, what would you do
to when you approach a precedent decision?
have to look at does the precedential case violate
the Constitution? Does it does it protect or take
away people's rights? So that is the first thing
that I would look at. Secondly, I think if it is
an issue that evolves in constitutional rights, you
look at, well, has this been in place for a long
period of time such that people have relied on these
protections like Roe versus Wade? It's a perfect
example. The Dobbs case took away rights that
American women in Wisconsin women had come to depend on
over the last 50 years, throughout the duration of
my life. And so that was very alarming that it was
so flippantly done, 50 years of precedent. Again,
that conflicts my opinion about Roe versus Wade,
conflicts with my opponent, who celebrated the reversal
of Roe versus Wade. So what I look at, though, in
looking at precedent, is did this case comport with
constitutional protections or did it not? So there is
appropriate cases where precedent should be
overturned. I mean, look at Plessy versus Ferguson.
Separate but equal. We all know that is wrong. And
thankfully there was a case that overturned that type
of discrimination in Brown versus Board of Education.
>> You're running for Wisconsin Supreme Court
position. But how much of what's happening nationally
and President Trump's impact will will overshadow
this race, as voters take all that into account when
they're making their choices at the ballot box?
>> Well, look, I think that we have an incredible
opportunity in this race, the people of the state of
Wisconsin, to elect a justice who is going to
stand up for their rights, for their freedoms, who is
going to hold the federal government accountable when
they overreach into the state? And I'm going to
protect the independence of Wisconsin. We are an
independent state. We have our own constitution, our
own laws, and everyone is subject to those when they
come in the state of Wisconsin. So I will be a
strong justice making sure our people are protected
and our state is protected. >> All right, Judge Taylor,