[NOTE: Candidates referenced in the following political update were selected to reflect information of general interest to WiAHC members. The inclusion of any particular item does not in any way reflect the views of WiAHC, Hoven Consulting, Badger Bay Management Company or its employees or representatives.]

State Supreme Court

Madison-Based State Appeals Court Judge and former Democratic State Representative Chris Taylor prevailed decisively over Waukesha-Based State Appeals Court Judge Maria Lazar in the spring election held on April 7. With 99% of the votes counted, the results for this technically non-partisan race are as follows:

• Chris Taylor:                      60.1%
• Maria Lazar:                      39.8%

Key Points in this Race

• In winning the race with 60.1% of the vote, Taylor received the second highest vote percentage for a State Supreme Court race since 2000, when conservative Diane Sykes won 65.5% of the vote.
• Taylor’s win will expand the liberal majority on the court from 4-3 to 5-2. Taylor will begin her term on the court on August 1, 2026, and will serve a 10-year term. 

• Once Taylor begins her term on the court, liberal justices will have the majority on the court until at least 2030. Their 5-2 margin could be expanded to 6-1 in the 2027 spring election if a liberal candidate wins the race to succeed conservative Justice Annette Ziegler. Ziegler announced prior to the April 7 election that she would not run for re-election in 2027.

• As the ideological control of the state Supreme Court was not at stake in this election, campaign spending was significantly less than in the spring 2025 State Supreme Court race, when ideological control was at stake. In that 2025 race, $115 million was spent on the State Supreme Court campaign. In this year’s race, it is estimated that $8-9 million was spent, the vast majority of which was spent by Taylor and allied organizations.
• With Taylor winning with such a significant margin, this is likely a warning sign for Republicans in November.

State Senate

As of April 15, 2026, the following state Senators have announced that they are not running for re-election this year:

• Sen. Jesse James (R-Thorp)
• Sen. Rob Hutton (R-Brookfield)
• Sen. Steve Nass (R-Whitewater)
• Sen. Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg)
• NOTE: He currently serves as the Senate Majority Leader.
• Sen. Van Wanggaard (R-Racine)

State Assembly

As of April 15, 2026, the following state Representatives have announced that they are not running for re-election this year:

•  Rep. Robin Vos (R-Rochester)
• NOTE: He currently serves as Assembly Speaker.
• Rep. Rob Brooks (R-Saukville)
• Rep. Jerry O’Connor (R-Fond du Lac)
• Rep. Dave Murphy (R-Hortonville)
• Rep. Kevin Petersen (R-Waupaca)
• NOTE: He currently serves as Assembly Speaker Pro Tempore.
• Rep. Rick Gundrum (R-Slinger)
• Rep. Scott Allen (R-Waukesha)
• Rep. Robyn Vining (D-Wauwatosa)
• She is running for the state Senate district currently represented by Sen. Rob Hutton (R-Brookfield).
• Rep. Jenna Jacobson (D-Oregon)
• She is running for the state Senate district currently represented by Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green).
• Rep. Francesca Hong (D-Madison)
• She is currently running for Governor.