Dems Flip Wisconsin Supreme Court as Republican Loser Gives Salty Speech Denouncing Opponent as ‘Beneath Contempt’

Voters in Wisconsin flipped control of the state’s Supreme Court to liberals on Tuesday night as Milwaukee County Judge Janet Protasiewicz defeated Dan Kelly.

It is the first time liberals will control Wisconsin’s highest court in 15 years.

A former justice on the court, Kelly failed in his attempt to regain a seat for the second time in a row. In 2020, he lost by nearly 11 percentage points. He appears poised for a defeat of about the same margin this time around.

Kelly delivered remarks to supporters after the race was called. Despite the drubbing, he refused to concede to Protasiewicz. Instead, he offered his supporters sour grapes:

I wish that in a circumstance like this, I would be able to concede to a worthy opponent. But I do not have a worthy opponent to which [sic] I can concede. This was the most deeply deceitful, dishonorable, despicable campaign I have ever seen run for the courts. It was truly beneath contempt.

Kelly went on to say, “This is the future we have to look forward to in Wisconsin.”

Protasiewicz’s victory tips the judicial balance of power in a state that is heavily gerrymandered to favor Republicans. That could change now that it would be a liberal majority deciding any districting-related cases before the court.

Democrats’ enthusiasm was somewhat curbed on Tuesday night, as Republican Rep. Dan Knodl defeated Jodi Habush Sinykin in a state Senate special election for the eighth district. Knodl’s win gives Republicans a two-thirds majority that, were it so inclined, could vote to remove Protasiewicz (or any other Democratic justice) from the court if the Republican-controlled state assembly impeaches her with a simple majority vote.

Though the move would be radical, Knodl, who urged then-Vice President Mike Pence to delay certifying Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election, said he’s open to the idea of convicting Protasiewicz.

“I certainly would consider it,” he said on a local television talk show.

Watch above via WITI-Milwaukee, FOX6.