Dems Win Huge Supreme Court Race Despite $800k In Anti-trans Ads In Wisconsin

Judge Janet Protasiewicz won a major Supreme Court race in Wisconsin, giving the state its first liberal majority in 15 years. This is despite a massive, transphobic ad blitz by her opponents.

In a momentous victory for LGBTQ+ people, Judge Janet Protasiewicz triumphed over her anti-LGBTQ+ rival, Judge Daniel Kelly, in Tuesday's Wisconsin Supreme Court race. This win occurred despite the staggering $800,000 spent on anti-trans ads distributed to voters throughout the state. The outcome marks a significant triumph for the transgender community in a year plagued by an unprecedented number of legal assaults on trans individuals. Furthermore, this latest example of Republican's failed anti-trans campaigning strategy demonstrates that making the targeting of trans people a central focus of their governance is a losing election strategy.

Going into the election, it became increasingly clear that transgender people were going to be a main issue. When introduced by a GOP operative during a campaign stop in Dane County, the local GOP chair Brandon Maly stated, “This election can literally mean the difference between boys’ versus girls’ sports. Boys sports being with all boys playing, and then girls sports being with boys dominating,”

Judge Daniel Kelly had a history of anti-LGBTQ sentiment. When discussing the a 2013 Supreme Court decision on gay marriage, for instance, he stated that gay marriage would “rob the institution of marriage of any discernible meaning.”

Meanwhile Kelly’s opponent, Judge Janet Prostasiewicz, racked up a slew of endorsements from LGBTQ+ organizations and organizations supporting bodily autonomy. Human Rights Campaign endorsed her as well as Planned Parenthood, one of the largest informed consent hormone therapy providers in the state. Responding to these endorsements, Judge Prostasiewicz stated,

“I am honored to be endorsed by the Human Rights Campaign, which has been at the forefront of the fight for fairness and equality. The stakes of this election are high and we need a Supreme Court that upholds the constitutional rights of every Wisconsinite.”

Anti-trans groups spent hundreds of thousands of dollars flooding the state in an attempt to defeat her candidacy with transphobic attack ads. The American Principles Project, an anti-trans group that has expressed support for ending gender affirming care entirely, ran attack ads and sent alarming text messages to voters in Wisconsin. Some texts from the group implied that Judge Prostasiewicz wished to “trans our children.” They spent $800,000 flooding the state with videos along with these texts that implied Judge Prostasiewicz was endorsing bottom surgery on transgender minors - a claim that Politifact gave a “pants on fire” rating to.

See the ad:

This is the latest in a slew of examples where heavy money focusing on anti-trans attack ads did not help and likely hurt the Republican candidates for office. In the 2022 elections, right-wing groups spent up to $50,000,000 on anti-trans attack ads throughout the United States. In Georgia, Herschel Walker appeared beside anti-trans swimmer Riley Gaines and released an attack ad against Senator Warnock and proceeded to lose his race in Georgia. In Arizona, Kari Lake focused on Katie Hobb’s support for trans teens as the race entered the final stretch - Governor Hobbs won her race. In Michigan, after watching Democrats capture a trifecta, the chief of staff of the Republican Party Paul Cordes stated that “there were more ads on transgender sports than inflation, gas prices, and bread and butter issues that could have swayed independent voters.”

Evidently, utilizing anti-trans attack ads is not a successful approach for the Republican Party. A recent poll from Data For Progress showed that the vast majority of Americans, including Republicans, believe that Republicans are targeting trans people too much. Despite this reality, hardline conservatives persist in advocating for anti-trans policies and incorporating discrimination into the core of Republican campaigns. Influential figures such as Matt Walsh, Chaya Raichik (Libs of TikTok), Charlie Kirk, and Michael Knowles have placed Republican legislators in a precarious position, caught between an ineffective general election strategy and the potential backlash from influencers who may finance and support primary opponents. The volume of anti-transgender policies this year has surged to over 450 bills. If centering disdain for trans individuals in their 2022 campaigns proved detrimental, Republicans may be paving the way for even worse results in 2024.

Judge Protasiewicz’ victory could prove monumental for the fight for rights in the state. Wisconsin voters resoundingly rejected anti-trans attack ads and scare campaigns over LGBTQ+ people in schools and gender affirming care for trans youth. The state will now carry a liberal majority for the first time in 15 years, and it could not come soon enough in a state where conservative groups have tried and failed to make anti-trans policy stick.