Wisconsin’s Tuesday Primary Includes State Supreme Court Candidates, 7th District Hopefuls

Voters in Wisconsin’s primary election Tuesday will narrow the field in the race for the state Supreme Court, while residents of the state’s sprawling 7th Congressional District will choose which Republican and Democratic candidates will face each other in a May special election.

Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly is defending his seat on the bench against Dane County Judge Jill Karofsky and Marquette University Law School professor Ed Fallone. The top two vote-getters Tuesday will move on to the April 7 general election.

Meanwhile in the 7th District, Tricia Zunker, a constitutional law professor and a Ho-Chunk Supreme Court justice, and Lawrence Dale, an insurance salesman, are vying for the Democratic nomination. And on the GOP side, state Sen. Tom Tiffany is competing against Afghanistan War veteran Jason Church. The winners of the partisan primaries will face off in a May 12 special election for the seat in Congress left vacant by former Republican U.S. Rep Sean Duffy, who resigned last fall.

Wisconsin Supreme Court

While elections for the state’s highest court are officially nonpartisan, the February primary has two liberal-backed candidates, Fallone and Karofsky, looking to unseat Kelly, a member of the court’s 5-2 conservative majority, who has the support of Republicans.

The race has been marked on all sides by accusations of partisan influence, with attacks at times becoming personal. The liberal candidates have cast Kelly, who was appointed by former Republican Gov. Scott Walker, as beholden to right-wing interests, pointing to ruling he’s made since joining the court in 2016. For his part, Kelly has said Fallone and Karofsky would be too willing to let personal beliefs influence their decisions on cases, and has dismissed his opponents’ attacks as “slander.”

The winner in April will be elected to a 10-year term on the court.

RELATED: State Supreme Court Debate Gets Personal

7th Congressional District

The Republican and Democratic hopefuls in Tuesday’s election are seeking to represent a district that covers large portions of central and northern Wisconsin. In recent years it has leaned Republican, with Duffy winning five elections.

Seeking to keep the seat in GOP hands, Tiffany and Church have both focused on core conservative issues like gun rights and support for President Donald Trump. They’ve also voiced support for efforts to support agriculture in the rural district. With little separating them on policy grounds, Church has highlighted his military service and cast himself as an outsider candidate, while Tiffany has pointed to his record as a state policymaker.

The Democratic candidates similarly stand close together on some policy grounds, if differing somewhat on specifics and in style. Dale has described himself as a “Bernie Sanders Democrat” and has voiced support for the Vermont U.S. senator’s “Medicare for All” health care plan. Zunker said she favors a “a robust public option” expanding health care access. Zunker has also expressed support for policies to help small farmers in Wisconsin. Dale has been less specific about other policy specifics.

Polls are open until 8 p.m. Tuesday. Information about polling locations is available through the Wisconsin Elections Commission.