Another Missed Opportunity
Former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly loses bid for Wisconsin Supreme Court as liberals gain a majority on the Court.
Former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly has lost his bid for Wisconsin Supreme Court against Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge Janet Protasiewicz; awarding the liberals a 4-3 majority on the Court. This marks the first time liberals have a majority on the WI Supreme Court since 2008. The Court is now poised to reverse its state abortion ban. The election was very competitive as the balance of the Court laid in the hands of the voters.
Conservative Activist Scott Presler has been promoting this race on Twitter for a while. Presler has spent countless hours on the ground talking to voters, even walking through the snow just to get the message out. Presler is someone who will work as hard as he can for the candidates that he supports. As someone that knows Presler personally, I can truly attest that he is one of the hugest assets to the conservative movement.
However, after the race was called for Protasiewicz, Kelly had some choice words to say after his defeat.
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. My opponent is a serial liar. She's disregarded judicial ethics; she's demeaned the judiciary with her behavior. This is the future that we have to look forward to in Wisconsin.
At the end of every campaign, whether it results in a win or loss, a candidate needs to make due to their opponent. A candidate can still believe their opponent is the worst human ever to exist, but they still have to make due. In 2016, Trump called Hillary Clinton “Crooked Hillary” on numerous occasions and she still conceded to Trump.
After the election, a lot of people from different factions started pointing fingers at why Kelly lost. Some were saying Trump should have endorsed Kelly while others said the messaging was not good enough. Wisconsin is a battleground state heading into 2024. Since the 2020 Presidential Election, Republicans have struggled to win in battleground states. The trend continues in 2023. Republicans need to run candidates more to the center in these battleground states. Otherwise, they will continue to suffer in November elections.