Waukesha County Circuit Judge Jennifer Dorow said she wants to be the conservative to replace retiring conservative Justice Patience Roggensack on the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Dorow, who presided over the high-profile Waukesha parade deaths trial just a few weeks ago, made it official Wednesday. She's entering the February primary for what will be an open seat on the high court.
And Dorow made it clear that she is courting voters who like Roggensack's judicial philosophy.
"We must replace Justice Roggensack with a judicial conservative who will fairly and faithfully apply the law as written to the cases, excuse me, to the facts of the cases that come before the court," Dorow told news reporters and supporters at a ceremony inside a courtroom at the Waukesha County Courthouse.
There are three other candidates running for state Supreme Court, including one who has already lined up some conservative support. That's former state Justice Dan Kelly, who was a private bar attorney before then-Republican Gov. Scott Walker appointed Kelly to the Supreme Court in 2016. Kelly lost his election bid two years ago.
Kelly's campaign issued the following statement this week: "I encourage everyone to consider each candidate carefully. I'm confident voters will put their trust in my proven record of upholding the rule of law and protecting our constitution."
WUWM asked Dorow, a Walker appointee in 2011 to the Waukesha bench, how she differs from Kelly.
"Eleven years on the trial bench is very considerable. It gives me a breadth and depth of experience, not just in criminal cases. In civil cases, in family cases, and of course, all of my background being a guardian ad litem, doing defense work and being a prosecutor. I don't think there's anyone in the field as well-rounded as I am with their judicial experience," Dorow said.
The other two state Supreme Court candidates may not agree. They're Dane County Judge Everett Mitchell, who has been on the bench for six years and is a former assistant district attorney, and Milwaukee County Judge Janet Protasiewicz, who has been a jurist for eight years and spent 25 years as an assistant district attorney.
Mitchell and Protasiewicz are viewed as the more liberal candidates, as Democrats and others hope to take control of the seven-member high court away from conservatives in the April election.
Wisconsin's spring primary election is Tuesday, February 21, 2023 and the spring general election is Tuesday, April 4, 2023. If you have a question about voting or the races, submit it below.
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