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Wisconsin Senate supermajority, Protasiewicz impeachment chatter
Progressives won control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court Tuesday, April 4, and that means the future of Wisconsin politics and daily life could change.
MILWAUKEE - Progressives won control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court Tuesday, April 4, and that means the future of Wisconsin politics and daily life could change.
A day later, national reports asked if legislative Republicans could possibly impeach the new justice, Janet Protasiewicz.
Conservatives lost control of the Supreme Court, which they controlled for 15 years, but Republicans did win a supermajority of the Wisconsin Senate. That's enough to convict on an impeachment charge.
FOX6 News asked Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu if they'd impeach.
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"Our state is taking a step forward to a brighter and better future where our rights and freedoms will be protected," said Protasiewicz after being elected to a 10-year term on the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Conservative Daniel Kelly blasted his opponent Tuesday night.
"My opponent is a serial liar," said Kelly. "I wish that in a circumstance like this, I would be able to concede to a worthy opponent, but I do not have a worthy opponent to which I can concede to."
As conservatives lost the Supreme Court, they picked up a supermajority in the Wisconsin Senate, enough to convict an impeachment charge.
Republican Senate winner Dan Knodl had once said he'd be open to impeaching Judge Protasiewicz. While there was national chatter about that possibility, LeMahieu closed the door.
Devin LeMahieu
"For impeachment to succeed, there has to be a serious crime, a misdemeanor, something like that, and it shouldn’t be used as a tool to overturn elections," said LeMahieu. "It just has to be something very serious that an elected official or a public official does, and being someone who doesn’t agree with you politically is not a reason to impeach someone."
What explains Protasiewicz's win?
Here's a sample:
In Dane County, a growing democratic stronghold and a quickly growing county in Wisconsin, the last time a Progressive won, Jill Karofsky in 2020, she won by 159,000 votes. On Tuesday night, Protasiewicz won 190,000 there.
Then there's the county Kelly really needed to do well in: Waukesha. He underperformed compared to what he got there in 2020, nearly 10 points off from what the Conservative winner got in 2019.
Daniel Kelly
Statewide, the Progressives won 56% of the vote and the Conservatives 44%.
It was a Supreme Court race for the record books. It shattered the country's record for Supreme Court race spending with at least $42 million dollars spent.
On Wednesday, former President Donald Trump blamed Kelly's loss on not seeking Trump's endorsement, but the former president did endorse when Kelly lost in 2020.