MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin voters began to cast their ballots Tuesday in a pivotal state Supreme Court race that will determine whether liberals keep their slim majority on the highest court in a crucial presidential battleground.
The first day of early voting, two weeks before the April 1 election between Republican-backed Brad Schimel and Democratic-supported Susan Crawford, will test how energized each side’s voters are in the hotly contested race.
The election, which has drawn the attention of President Donald Trump’s adviser Elon Musk and attracted tens of millions of dollars in spending, is seen as a referendum on how voters are responding to the first months of Trump’s Republican presidency.
It comes after the Democratic-backed candidate won in 2023 and flipped control of the state Supreme Court to liberals for the first time in 15 years. Since then, the court has thrown out Republican-drawn legislative maps, which led to Democratic gains in the November election, and reinstated absentee-ballot drop boxes. It’s heard a case challenging an 1849 law banning abortions in the state but has yet to issue its ruling. Cases related to the strength of public sector unions, voting rules and congressional district boundaries are likely to lie ahead.
Retired electrician Maggie Freespirit, 58, was among the first to vote early at a polling site in downtown Madison, the heavily Democratic state capital.
She said she voted for Crawford because she knows the Democratic-backed candidate will support abortion rights. But she is nervous about Crawford’s chances.
‘‘I’m still amazed at how many people are supporting what the Republicans are doing,‘’ she said.
Steve Ravely, a 72-year-old conservative voter in deep-red Waukesha, said the economy and immigration were the most important issues to him — and why he decided to vote for Schimel.