Voters in Wisconsin are heading to the polls in the state Supreme Court primary race, where two liberals and two conservatives are vying to advance to the final round in April — and the future of the law and civil rights in the state hangs in the balance.
Charlie Sykes, an anti-Trump conservative and longtime Wisconsin political commentator, broke down the state of affairs with MSNBC's Jason Johnson on Tuesday.
"I have never seen anything quite like this, including the way that this has been nationalized," said Sykes. "And the way that you have Democrats and progressive groups who I think have downplayed these races in the past, but they are focused on this because the stakes in Wisconsin are so clear. It is a 4-3 conservative majority that has made it very, very clear that they would be prepared to restrict access to voting booths, who knows what else they might do. Abortion is on the ballot. They will revisit Scott Walker's Act 10 [an anti-union law]. There are so many issues that are out there."
"Tonight's race is officially — as you know, Jason — nonpartisan," said Sykes. "There is nothing nonpartisan about it. The literature that I'm holding up here is nakedly political. You have the two conservatives fighting against one another rather bitterly are vying with one another and saying exactly how they would rule on abortion, exactly what they would do on these various issues. So so much for the independent judiciary. But it's going to be very interesting to see who emerges from tonight's primary."
There are multiple reasons why Republicans are facing an uphill battle to hold the seat, Sykes continued.
"The more progressive voters do seem more galvanized this year than I have ever seen them before in one of these races," said Sykes. "And secondly, while there are two progressives on the ballot, it has not been a contentious primary. However, there's real division among the conservative candidates. This is a bitter civil war. They have decided that this would be the moment to have a food fight."
"Dan Kelly, who has been Supreme Court justice in the past, was defeated for reelection, so he's already lost a statewide vote," added Sykes. "If he wins the primary tonight, I think he will be very vulnerable, particularly because of the role he played an election denialism, taking the $120,000 in his role with the fake electors. So that is going to be a huge issue in the general election if he survives the primary tonight."
Charlie Sykes discusses GOP struggles in Wisconsin Supreme Court racewww.youtube.com
