Wisconsin Supreme Court election, 2011
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Red counties represent wins by Prosser, and blue counties represent wins by Kloppenburg. The darker the shading, the higher the percentage margin of victory for that particular candidate.
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The Wisconsin Supreme Court election of 2011 took place on Tuesday, April 5, 2011. Unlike past elections for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, the race between 12-year incumbent David Prosser, Jr. and challenger Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg gained significant nationwide publicity as it was widely seen as a referendum on Governor Scott Walker's proposed budget reforms in Wisconsin, and a part of the 2011 Wisconsin protests.
In December 2010, Prosser's campaign director expressed strong support for governor-elect Walker, saying Prosser's "personal ideology more closely mirrors" Walker's, and that a win by Prosser would result in, "protecting the conservative judicial majority and acting as a common sense compliment to both the new administration and Legislature." He later disavowed the statements and claimed he had not seen the release. Prosser's campaign manager also said that, "This election is about a 4-3 commonsense conservative majority vs. a 3-4 liberal majority, and nothing more."
In a survey of attorneys conducted by the Milwaukee Bar Association that was published February 2011, Prosser received more votes saying he was "qualified" than any of his opponents; besting Kloppenburg by a margin of 296 to 112. He was endorsed in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and the Sun Prairie Star. He won the primary handily, receiving 231,000 votes to second place finisher Kloppenburg's 105,000 votes; a 30% margin.
In the general election of April 5, 2011, Prosser again faced Kloppenburg. The contest received considerable attention due to the ongoing protests of Walker's budget repair bill and limitations on public employee bargaining rights; issues which would likely soon come before the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Heading into the election, the court had a conservative majority of 4-2-1 with Prosser identifying as a conservative and N. Patrick Crooks considered a swing vote. Both candidates stated their unhappiness with the increasingly partisan nature of the race.
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