GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – While Janet Protasiewicz won the election, a look at Wisconsin shows Daniel Kelly carried the majority of counties across the state. It was the counties with the highest populations, however, that made a difference in this race because people, not land, vote.
The numbers don’t lie; Protasiewicz easily defeated Kelly in Tuesday’s Supreme Court race. The large margin of victory is not what most expected.
“It really was a very different election and a very different result, just in terms of how close it was, or not close in this case, compared to other elections. It was really sort of surprising,” said UW Green Bay Political Science Professor David Helpap.
A seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court is supposed to be a non-partisan position, but Protasiewicz, as expected, carried the predominantly liberal counties like Milwaukee and Dane.
Closer to home in Northeast Wisconsin, in heavily populated Brown, Outagamie and Winnebago counties — areas that tend to vote more conservative and should have favored Kelly — Protasiewicz picked up more votes than liberal candidates in the past.
“[Kelly] lost Brown County by three points. He lost Outagamie County by three points. Winnebago was a little more even,” said Helpap. “So, when you don’t get support from your traditional base counties, you lose really badly in counties you were going to lose anyway, and you don’t get the swing part of the state — you can’t make up those numbers in the rural part.”
Statistics about the age and gender of those who voted on Tuesday aren’t available, but it’s clear that abortion and the future of Wisconsin’s legislative districts drove people to the polls.
“People saw a real opportunity here to effect change in a way that isn’t just going to happen through the legislature right now; it’s just not. So, this could be a way to create change and not have to deal with the state legislature and legislative districts,” added Helpap, who believes the move is an indication of how Wisconsin isn’t dominated by one party but is instead a divided government.
Protasiewicz’s victory means she will serve a 10-year term starting in August. She’s replacing retiring conservative Justice Pat Roggensack.
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