Wisconsin
Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates to square off in their only debate in the hotly contested race
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Candidates in a race that will determine ideological control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court will square off Wednesday in their only scheduled debate before the April 1 election.
The contest, which has caught the attention of presidential adviser Elon Musk, will be a litmus test early in President Donald Trump’s term in a key presidential swing state. Control of the court is on the line as it faces cases over abortion and reproductive rights, the strength of public sector unions, voting rules and congressional district boundaries.
The race pits Waukesha County Circuit Judge Brad Schimel, a former Republican attorney general, against Dane County Circuit Judge Susan Crawford, who is backed by Democrats and is running in her first statewide race.
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Here is a look at some of the key issues:
Abortion rights
Crawford is backed by Planned Parenthood and represented the group in a pair of abortion-related cases when she was an attorney in private practice. She supports abortion rights and has said the U.S. Supreme Court was wrong to overturn Roe v. Wade. Much of her campaign against Schimel has focused on his past opposition to abortion, including when he was attorney general.
Schimel, who is supported by anti-abortion groups, has said he believes that an 1849 state law banning abortions is still “valid” and that there is no right to an abortion under the state constitution. He was also criticized by Crawford and current justices on the court after he said the liberal majority was ” driven by their emotions ” on a pending abortion case.
Both candidates have repeatedly said their personal views on abortion would not affect how they would rule.
Union rights and the state’s voter ID law
As an attorney, Crawford sued in an attempt to overturn the state’s law that effectively ended collective bargaining for public workers. That law, known as Act 10, was the centerpiece of former Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s tenure and made Wisconsin the center of the national debate over union rights.
A Dane County judge last year ruled that the bulk of the law was unconstitutional, and an appeal of that ruling is expected to come before the state Supreme Court.
When Schimel was attorney general, he said he would defend Act 10 and opposed having its restrictions also applied to police and firefighter unions, which were exempt from the law.
Crawford also sued to overturn the state’s voter ID law, but lost. A measure on the April 1 ballot would enshrine that law in the state constitution — an attempt by Republicans to make it more difficult to undo.
Testing of sexual assault evidence
Whether Schimel did enough as attorney general to clear the state’s backlog of untested sexual assault evidence has been a central attack from Crawford and her allies.
Schimel took more than two years to test about 4,000 kits sitting unanalyzed on police department and hospital shelves. He has said that the state Justice Department needed time to inventory the kits and struggled to find private labs to test them because labs were overwhelmed with untested kits from other states.
In 2014, the state Justice Department learned of about 6,800 sexual assault evidence kits that had not been tested. Wisconsin cleared its backlog of untested kits in 2019, the year after Schimel left office.
Both candidates say the other is weak on crime
Many of the television ads in the race have focused on specific cases Crawford and Schimel have handled as judges, with both sides claiming the other is weak on crime.
Schimel previously worked as the Waukesha County district attorney and has racked up endorsements from law enforcement officials, including a majority of the state’s county sheriffs, the Wisconsin Fraternal Order of Police and the Milwaukee Police Association.
Crawford worked as a prosecutor for the attorney general’s office under a Democrat and has the backing of the sheriffs of Milwaukee and Dane counties, as well as dozens of judges from around the state.
Control of the court attracts big donations
The winner will determine whether the court remains under majority control of liberal justices as it has since 2023, or whether it will flip back to conservative control as it had been for 15 years prior to that.
The race has become nationalized thanks to groups funded by Musk that have spent more than $8 million in support of Schimel. Crawford also has benefitted from donations from prominent national Democrats such as philanthropist George Soros and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, but they haven’t kept pace with Musk’s spending.
Donald Trump Jr. and political activist Charlie Kirk plan to co-host a town hall on Monday in Wisconsin that’s being billed as a get-out-the vote effort for Schimel.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin man accused of killing parents to fund Trump assassination plot set to enter plea deal
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin man accused of killing his parents and stealing their money to fund a plan to assassinate President Donald Trump is set to enter a plea deal resolving the case Thursday.
Nikita Casap, 18, is expected to agree to the deal during a morning hearing in Waukesha County Circuit Court in suburban Milwaukee. He goes into the hearing facing multiple charges, including two homicide counts, two counts of hiding a corpse and theft, with a trial scheduled to begin March 2.
Online court records did not list the terms of the plea agreement. Harm Venhuizen, a spokesperson for the state public defender’s office, which is representing Casap, said state Supreme Court ethics rules prevent the office from commenting on cases. The Waukesha County District Attorney’s Office did not respond to questions about the deal.
According to a criminal complaint, investigators believe Casap shot his mother, Tatiana Casap, and his stepfather, Donald Mayer, at their home in the village of Waukesha on or around Feb. 11.
He lived with the decomposing bodies for weeks before fleeing across the country in his stepfather’s SUV with $14,000 in cash, jewelry, passports, his stepfather’s gun and the family dog, according to the complaint. He was eventually arrested during a traffic stop in Kansas on Feb. 28.
Federal authorities have accused Casap of planning his parents’ murders, buying a drone and explosives and sharing his plans with others, including a Russian speaker. They said in a federal search warrant that he wrote a manifest calling for Trump’s assassination and was in touch with others about his plan to kill Trump and overthrow the U.S. government.
“The killing of his parents appeared to be an effort to obtain the financial means and autonomy necessary to carrying out his plan,” that warrant said.
Detectives found several messages on Casap’s cellphone from January 2025 in which Casap asks how long he will have to hide before he is moved to Ukraine. An unknown individual responded in Russian, the complaint said, but the document doesn’t say what that person told Casap. In another message Casap asks: “So while in Ukraine, I’ll be able to live a normal life? Even if it’s found out I did it?”
A Republican-authored bill would require Wisconsin school boards to adopt a policy that would inform a parent or guardian if a student requests to be called by names and pronouns not aligned with their gender assigned at birth.
The bill would require legal documentation, parental approval and a principal to approve changes to a student’s name and pronouns. The bill makes exceptions for nicknames or students going by their middle names.
Although the bill has no chance of being signed into law by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, it reflects the continuing political energy of two issues: parental authority in schools, and the treatment of trans youths.
Notably, hundreds of trans-related bills were introduced at multiple levels of government across the country in the last year.
The lawmakers who introduced the bill, Rep. Barbara Dittrich (R-Oconomowoc) and state Sen. Andre Jacque (R-Franken), said it is about parental rights and transparency. At a Capitol public hearing Jan. 6, Jacque cited a ruling from October 2023 in which a Waukesha judge sided with parents who sued the Kettle Moraine School District after staff at the middle school used a child’s chosen name and pronouns. The parents did not support their child’s transition.
But the Senate Committee on Education hearing grew heated as LGBTQ+ youth, parents of transgender children, Democratic lawmakers and other advocates called the bill unnecessary and potentially violence-inducing. They said it makes life worse for a vulnerable population that makes up less than 1% of Wisconsin pupils.
Jacque argued that without the bill, educators can make decisions about children’s health and well-being in secrecy.
“Hiding from us important things that are going on in their lives is not only disrespectful to parents, it is harmful to our children and deliberately sabotaging the ability for vital communication to take place,” Jacque said.
Sen. Sarah Keyeski (D-Lodi) questioned why the Legislature should be involved when school boards already have the ability to approve such policies.
“I think it’s interesting how much you lean on local control for certain things, but then all of a sudden, you want government control,” she said.
Abigail Swetz, executive director of Fair Wisconsin, said such a bill would prevent educators from “engaging in the best practice” for using names and pronouns. Swetz, a former middle school teacher who advised a Gender and Sexuality Alliance club, said she’s seen firsthand the positive impact of affirming trans and nonbinary students.
“The mental health struggles that trans youth face are not a self-fulfilling prophecy. They’re entirely pressured outcomes, and bills like SB120 add to that pressure,” Swetz said.
Jenna Gormal, the public policy director at End Abuse Wisconsin, said forcing students to come out to parents before they’re ready reinforces power and control while stripping students of their autonomy.
Alison Selje, who uses they/them pronouns, spoke of the seismic shift in their well-being and academic performance when someone used their correct pronouns. Selje was a student at Madison West High School at the time. The Madison Metropolitan School District has a policy – which has survived a court challenge – protecting the use of names and pronouns of trans students.
“I remember the first time I heard someone use the right pronoun for me. This was during the pandemic so I was still wearing a mask, but underneath it, I was smiling ear to ear,” Selje said. “The use of my pronouns was a confidence boost, but it was also a lifesaver.”
Support for the bill came from two women representing Moms for Liberty. Laura Ackman and Amber Infusimo shared stories of parents finding out about their children’s new gender identity through school playbills and yearbooks.
“This bill rightly affirms schools shouldn’t be making significant decisions without parental knowledge or involvement,” Ackman said. “It does not prevent kindness, respect or compassion.”
Nolan Winter, Nick Boyd comment on flagrant, technical fouls vs UCLA
Wisconsin forward Nolan Winter and guard Nick Boyd explain what happened with their flagrant and technical fouls in the Badgers’ win over UCLA.
MADISON – Wisconsin men’s basketball got the palette-cleanser it needed.
After losing to its last three high-major opponents by double-digit margins, the Badgers enjoyed a double-digit lead for almost the entire game en route to an 80-72 win over UCLA on Jan. 6 at the Kohl Center.
“The thing I like about tonight is we showed some fight and some togetherness and some heart,” Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said after the game. “And it wasn’t perfect, but when you have heart and you have fight, you always have a chance. … We were physically and emotionally engaged and after it.”
BOX SCORE: Wisconsin 80, UCLA 72
Wisconsin boasted a balanced scoring attack. Nick Boyd had a team-high 20 points, followed closely by Nolan Winter with 18 and John Blackwell with 17. Andrew Rohde also had 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting.
UCLA, meanwhile, relied on 18 points from Eric Dailey Jr. and 16 points from Tyler Bilodeau while the Bruins were playing without standout guard Skyy Clark.
Here are three takeaways from the win:
Badgers benefit from far superior 3-point shooting
One of the many what-ifs from Wisconsin’s 16-point loss to then-No. 6 Purdue was its 3-point shooting. UW went a mere 4 of 25 against the Boilermakers, marking its second consecutive game with sub-20% perimeter shooting.
The Badgers’ Jan. 6 win over UCLA was a much different story, as they made more 3-pointers in the first nine minutes against the Bruins than they did in all 40 minutes against Purdue.
UW finished the game with 33% shooting, going 10 of 30. But the perimeter shooting was more of a difference-maker than one might surmise from glancing through the final box score.
The early 3-pointers helped the Badgers claim 16-4, 28-9 and 38-19 leads throughout the first half – a sizeable enough cushion to withstand UCLA’s 14-4 run in the second half without the outcome ever seeming in serious jeopardy.
“When you see your teammates shoot with confidence and you see see them go in a few times, then it’s contagious,” Blackwell said. “It rubs off on others to make other shots and just be aggressive.”
Gard similarly said the improved 3-point shooting “creates energy.”
“As much as you try to say, ‘Don’t get emotionally attached to your shot going in or not,’ I thought we got good looks,” Gard said. “We knocked them down. We took the right ones. And that energizes both ends of the floor.”
Meanwhile, UCLA – ranking 16th in the NCAA in 3-point shooting at 38.6% ahead of the Jan. 6 game – had uncharacteristically lackluster shooting from deep, missing its first 14 3-point attempts and ultimately going 1 of 17. The Bruins’ lack of Clark – a 49.3% 3-point shooter – surely played a factor in that.
Wisconsin shows improvements, imperfections in halfcourt defense
As much as Wisconsin’s improved 3-point shooting captured the spotlight, the Badgers’ improved halfcourt defense also was instrumental in the Badgers enjoying a double-digit lead for much of the game.
“We were connected,” Gard said. “We were energetic. We were physical. We were covering for each other. We had each other’s back.”
UCLA averaged .969 points per possession in the first half, and the Bruins did not score outside of fastbreak opportunities until the 13:23 mark in the half.
UCLA was better in the second half, but even then, its 1.029 points per possession over the course of the entire game was the fewest allowed by UW to a high-major since holding Marquette to exactly one point per possession on Dec. 6.
“Our communication was really high-level,” Winter said. “These last two days of practice probably have been some of our best practices all year from a communication standpoint and a defensive standpoint.”
That’s not to say Wisconsin’s defense was perfect against the Bruins, however. UCLA made six straight shots at one point in the second half, and Gard picked out a few other issues with UW’s halfcourt defense.
“We had a couple ball-screen mistakes – one we hedged way too far, one we didn’t hedge at all,” Gard said. “Other than that, I thought we were pretty solid, and a lot of good things to build upon. We’ll have to continue to get better on that end of the floor.”
What happened with Nolan Winter’s flagrant foul, Nick Boyd’s technical foul
The Wisconsin-UCLA game ended with some drama as the officiating crew handed out a Flagrant 1 and offsetting technical fouls.
Winter received the flagrant foul after a somewhat of a hard foul on Eric Dailey Jr. as the UCLA forward attempted a layup.
“Yeah, it was a hard foul,” Winter said of his flagrant. “I didn’t really mean to get a flagrant, obviously, but I didn’t want to give him any free points, especially at the end of the game. … We played to the whistle.”
Gard pointed out that UCLA was “pressing us until the very end,” too.
After Winter’s foul, Dailey appeared to give Winter a light shove. Boyd and others ran to Winter’s defense, and Boyd made contact with Dailey. Boyd and Dailey received offsetting deadball technical fouls after replay review.
Boyd saw Dailey “push my guy,” he said after the game.
“Over these last couple weeks, man, we’ve just been getting pushed around too much,” Boyd said. “So I just had to have his back. That’s the mentality we’re carrying with us the rest of the year. We get pushed. We’re stepping right back up.”
UCLA coach Mick Cronin, unlike many of his peers this season, did not hold a postgame press conference at the Kohl Center. So Gard was the only coach in a position to share his thoughts on what transpired.
Gard’s thoughts were shaped by other officiating decisions that he did not want to specifically identify.
“I’m not going to get into refereeing, and those guys got a really hard job,” Gard said. “But there was some actions on the other end that if they get them under control, then that never happens because the play would have been whistled dead. … I’ll deal with that with the league in terms of we should have never gotten to that based on some other stuff.”
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