With 100 percent of precincts in, conservative Brian Hagedorn holds a 50.25-49.75 lead over liberal Lisa Neubauer in Tuesday’s officially nonpartisan race for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, a margin of just under 6,000 votes. Hagedorn declared victory early Wednesday while Neubauer’s campaign has not conceded and says a recount is likely.
State law allows for a recount if the margin is within 1 percent, as this contest currently is. First, though, county election officials must do a canvass to determine the final tally, a process the Journal-Sentinel says will start next week.
If Hagedorn’s lead holds, he will flip a seat left open by retiring liberal Justice Shirley Abrahamson and give conservatives a 5-2 majority on the bench. While conservatives will have to play defense a year from now, when conservative Dan Kelly is up for election, Hagedorn’s win ensures they’ll retain their majority heading into the next round of redistricting. And that in turn almost certainly means the Wisconsin Supreme Court won’t act as a check on the extreme gerrymanders that Republicans have perpetrated for years.