Wisc Democracy Campaign "Hindsight on Wis Supreme Court" Print
Commentary
Written by Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, Matt Rothschild   
Friday, 12 April 2019 14:55

wdc-logoMADISON - Now that Judge Neubauer has conceded defeat, I wanted to take a second to give you my 20-20 hindsight on the race.

She wasn’t outspent by the outside groups, as we show here:

Special Interests Doled Out $4.3M in Wisconsin Supreme Court Race

But my theory is that a lot of the ads by Greater Wisconsin and other pro-Neubauer groups actually served to turn out the vote for Judge Hagedorn, since they stressed how anti-gay and anti-abortion he is. This motivated the social conservatives to go out and vote for him!

Turnout was 26.6 percent. In off-season, low-turnout races, the highly motivated one-issue voter has more influence than, say, in presidential races. Wisconsin Right to Life and the NRA appear to have gotten their folks out, with some unwitting help from Neubauer’s outside groups. And rightwing talk radio may also have played a part, as well.

April 2 brought some good news: The momentum for banning gerrymandering keeps gaining speed:

3 More Wins for Banning Gerrymandering in Wisconsin

I was thrilled to see these wins, as I participated on a panel in La Crosse in late March on this issue, and I spoke in the Town of Newbold on it, as well. Congratulations to all the grassroots activists who made these victories possible!

Last week, I also went up to Wausau, this time to give a talk on the history of voter suppression, and what to do about it. Here’s the text. I hope you like it:

The Fight Against Voter Suppression

matt-rothschildIn the days aweeks ahead, we’ll be pushing for more pro-democracy reforms. I hope you’ll support us in this urgent work.

Best,

Matt Rothschild
Executive Director
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P.S. If you like the work we’re doing, please send a tax-deductible donation to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign by clicking here or by mailing a check, the old-fashioned way, to 203 S. Paterson St., Suite 100, Madison WI 53703 Thanks for your support!