In heated Wisconsin Supreme Court debate, candidates tangle over 'fake elector' scheme
MADISON, Wis. — In the only debate of the closely watched race that will determine ideological control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, liberal judge Janet Protasiewicz hammered her conservative opponent, Daniel Kelly, as a "true threat to democracy" over his ties to a scheme to overturn the 2020 election.
“I am running against probably one of the most extreme partisan characters in the history of the state,” Protasiewicz said during their debate Tuesday.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court race is of deep importance to both liberals and conservatives. A win by Kelly would retain conservative control of the court, while a win by Protasiewicz would result in a liberal majority — which has not been in place for 15 years — and could determine the fate of issues like abortion rights in the state.
In one of several attacks the candidates lobbed at each other in the one-hour debate, Protasiewicz criticized Kelly for having advised Republicans on legal efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential race through the use of “fake electors."
“The real cherry on the top is that fake electors scheme,” said Protasiewicz, a Milwaukee County circuit judge.
In a deposition to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, former Wisconsin GOP chairman Andrew Hitt said he and Kelly had “pretty extensive conversations” about the plan, and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported last month that the Republican Party at the state and national levels had paid Kelly $120,000 to advise them on “election integrity” issues.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/wisconsin-supreme-court-candidates-first-only-debate-rcna75915
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