{"id":1311927,"date":"2025-12-03T10:02:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T16:02:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/?page_id=1311927"},"modified":"2026-02-12T13:24:05","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T19:24:05","slug":"supreme-costs-pricey-and-partisan-high-court-elections","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/supreme-costs-pricey-and-partisan-high-court-elections\/","title":{"rendered":"Supreme Costs: Wisconsin&#8217;s pricey and partisan high court elections"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Wisconsin Supreme Court races have become everything they were never meant to be \u2014 highly partisan, astronomically expensive national political battles in which the candidates\u2019 ideologies overshadow their qualifications for an office that requires them to swear an oath to \u201cadminister justice \u2026 faithfully and impartially.\u201d This series examines the record spending in these elections, how Wisconsin became a national outlier and what can be done about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<div\n\t\tclass=\"wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles  wpnbha show-image image-alignleft ts-3 is-1 is-landscape \"\n\t\tstyle=\"\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t<div data-posts data-current-post-id=\"1311927\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t<article data-post-id=\"1311724\"\n\t\tclass=\"tag-campaign-finance tag-elections tag-news tag-supreme-costs tag-wisconsin-supreme-court tag-wisconsin-watch category-government type-post post-has-image\"\n\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"post-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/2025\/12\/wisconsin-supreme-court-election-expensive-spending-what-can-be-done-about-it\/\" rel=\"bookmark\" tabindex=\"-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/assesupreme_court_millions.jpeg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-newspack-article-block-landscape-large size-newspack-article-block-landscape-large wp-post-image\" alt=\"Wisconsin Supreme Court elections have drawn an \u2018obscene\u2019 amount of spending. Here\u2019s why and what can be done about it.\" data-hero-candidate=\"1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/assesupreme_court_millions.jpeg?w=1200&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/assesupreme_court_millions.jpeg?resize=336%2C252&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 336w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/assesupreme_court_millions.jpeg?resize=782%2C587&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 782w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/assesupreme_court_millions.jpeg?resize=140%2C105&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 140w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/assesupreme_court_millions.jpeg?resize=768%2C576&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/assesupreme_court_millions.jpeg?resize=800%2C600&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/assesupreme_court_millions.jpeg?resize=600%2C450&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/assesupreme_court_millions.jpeg?resize=400%2C300&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/assesupreme_court_millions.jpeg?resize=200%2C150&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/assesupreme_court_millions.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/assesupreme_court_millions.jpeg?resize=780%2C585&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 780w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/assesupreme_court_millions.jpeg?resize=706%2C530&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 706w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/assesupreme_court_millions.jpeg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw \/ 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw \/ 12)), 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure><!-- .featured-image -->\n\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"entry-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/2025\/12\/wisconsin-supreme-court-election-expensive-spending-what-can-be-done-about-it\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Wisconsin Supreme Court elections have drawn an \u2018obscene\u2019 amount of spending. Here\u2019s why and what can be done about it.<\/a><\/h2>\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Loose campaign finance laws, lax recusal rules, a purple electorate and even the spring election cycle all help explain why high court races have become so expensive.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .entry-wrapper -->\n\t<\/article>\n\n\t\t\n\t<article data-post-id=\"1311773\"\n\t\tclass=\"tag-campaign-finance tag-elections tag-news tag-supreme-costs tag-wisconsin-supreme-court tag-wisconsin-watch category-government type-post post-has-image\"\n\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"post-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/2025\/12\/wisconsin-supreme-court-spending-unlimited-donations-weak-recusal-rules\/\" rel=\"bookmark\" tabindex=\"-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/asse6561930.jpg?resize=800%2C600&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-newspack-article-block-landscape-medium size-newspack-article-block-landscape-medium wp-post-image\" alt=\"Unlimited donations, weak recusal rules led to record Wisconsin Supreme Court spending\" data-hero-candidate=\"1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/asse6561930.jpg?resize=800%2C600&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/asse6561930.jpg?resize=600%2C450&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/asse6561930.jpg?resize=400%2C300&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/asse6561930.jpg?resize=200%2C150&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/asse6561930.jpg?resize=800%2C600&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw \/ 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw \/ 12)), 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure><!-- .featured-image -->\n\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"entry-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/2025\/12\/wisconsin-supreme-court-spending-unlimited-donations-weak-recusal-rules\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Unlimited donations, weak recusal rules led to record Wisconsin Supreme Court spending<\/a><\/h2>\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Democrats seek to revive public financing of Supreme Court elections after previous attempts failed.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .entry-wrapper -->\n\t<\/article>\n\n\t\t\n\t<article data-post-id=\"1311948\"\n\t\tclass=\"tag-campaign-finance tag-elections tag-news tag-supreme-costs tag-wisconsin-supreme-court tag-wisconsin-watch category-government type-post post-has-image\"\n\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"post-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/2025\/12\/wisconsin-supreme-court-campaign-justice-state-election-partisan-candidate-cost\/\" rel=\"bookmark\" tabindex=\"-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/asse6560894.jpg?resize=800%2C600&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-newspack-article-block-landscape-medium size-newspack-article-block-landscape-medium wp-post-image\" alt=\"Sick of those state Supreme Court campaign ads, Wisconsin? Here\u2019s how other states avoid them\" data-hero-candidate=\"1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/asse6560894.jpg?resize=800%2C600&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/asse6560894.jpg?resize=600%2C450&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/asse6560894.jpg?resize=400%2C300&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/asse6560894.jpg?resize=200%2C150&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/asse6560894.jpg?resize=800%2C600&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw \/ 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw \/ 12)), 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure><!-- .featured-image -->\n\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"entry-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/2025\/12\/wisconsin-supreme-court-campaign-justice-state-election-partisan-candidate-cost\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Sick of those state Supreme Court campaign ads, Wisconsin? Here\u2019s how other states avoid them<\/a><\/h2>\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Polls show Wisconsin prefers to elect justices, but the timing, term limits and vetting of candidates could be different.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .entry-wrapper -->\n\t<\/article>\n\n\t\t\n\t<article data-post-id=\"1312063\"\n\t\tclass=\"tag-campaign-finance tag-elections tag-news tag-supreme-costs tag-wisconsin-supreme-court tag-wisconsin-watch category-government type-post post-has-image\"\n\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"post-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/2025\/12\/wisconsin-supreme-costs-court-election-obscene-spending-justices-series\/\" rel=\"bookmark\" tabindex=\"-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/assesupreme_court_millions.jpeg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-newspack-article-block-landscape-large size-newspack-article-block-landscape-large wp-post-image\" alt=\"Supreme Costs: A condensed version of our series on the \u2018obscene\u2019 spending on Wisconsin justices\" data-hero-candidate=\"1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/assesupreme_court_millions.jpeg?w=1200&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/assesupreme_court_millions.jpeg?resize=336%2C252&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 336w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/assesupreme_court_millions.jpeg?resize=782%2C587&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 782w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/assesupreme_court_millions.jpeg?resize=140%2C105&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 140w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/assesupreme_court_millions.jpeg?resize=768%2C576&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/assesupreme_court_millions.jpeg?resize=800%2C600&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/assesupreme_court_millions.jpeg?resize=600%2C450&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/assesupreme_court_millions.jpeg?resize=400%2C300&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/assesupreme_court_millions.jpeg?resize=200%2C150&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/assesupreme_court_millions.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/assesupreme_court_millions.jpeg?resize=780%2C585&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 780w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/assesupreme_court_millions.jpeg?resize=706%2C530&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 706w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/assesupreme_court_millions.jpeg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw \/ 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw \/ 12)), 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure><!-- .featured-image -->\n\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"entry-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/2025\/12\/wisconsin-supreme-costs-court-election-obscene-spending-justices-series\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Supreme Costs: A condensed version of our series on the \u2018obscene\u2019 spending on Wisconsin justices<\/a><\/h2>\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>In a three-part series, Wisconsin Watch examines why our state set back-to-back national records in Supreme Court election spending and what can be done about it.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .entry-wrapper -->\n\t<\/article>\n\n\t\t\n\t<article data-post-id=\"1314050\"\n\t\tclass=\"tag-election-2026 tag-news tag-supreme-costs tag-wisconsin-supreme-court tag-wisconsin-watch category-forward category-government type-post post-has-image\"\n\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"post-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/2026\/02\/wisconsin-appeals-court-election-spending-record-candidate-ballot-expensive-campaign\/\" rel=\"bookmark\" tabindex=\"-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Court-of-Appeals.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-newspack-article-block-landscape-large size-newspack-article-block-landscape-large wp-post-image\" alt=\"A Wisconsin Appeals Court election was shaping up to break records until a candidate got kicked off the ballot\" data-hero-candidate=\"1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Court-of-Appeals.jpg?w=2500&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 2500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Court-of-Appeals.jpg?resize=336%2C252&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 336w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Court-of-Appeals.jpg?resize=782%2C586&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 782w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Court-of-Appeals.jpg?resize=140%2C105&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 140w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Court-of-Appeals.jpg?resize=768%2C576&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Court-of-Appeals.jpg?resize=1536%2C1151&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Court-of-Appeals.jpg?resize=2048%2C1535&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Court-of-Appeals.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Court-of-Appeals.jpg?resize=800%2C600&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Court-of-Appeals.jpg?resize=600%2C450&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Court-of-Appeals.jpg?resize=400%2C300&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Court-of-Appeals.jpg?resize=200%2C150&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Court-of-Appeals.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Court-of-Appeals.jpg?resize=2000%2C1499&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Court-of-Appeals.jpg?resize=780%2C585&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 780w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Court-of-Appeals.jpg?resize=706%2C529&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 706w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Court-of-Appeals.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw \/ 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw \/ 12)), 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure><!-- .featured-image -->\n\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"entry-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/2026\/02\/wisconsin-appeals-court-election-spending-record-candidate-ballot-expensive-campaign\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">A Wisconsin Appeals Court election was shaping up to break records until a candidate got kicked off the ballot<\/a><\/h2>\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Appeals Court races in Wisconsin have gotten more expensive as conservatives and liberals clash in the Milwaukee suburbs.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .entry-wrapper -->\n\t<\/article>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"771\" height=\"434\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/XbL2jnWvA44?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Larry Sandler sits down with Wisconsin Watch video journalist Trisha Young to break down why Wisconsin is an outlier in Supreme Court spending and what\u2019s next for the state. (Video by Trisha Young \/ Wisconsin Watch)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-light-gray-background-color has-background\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Share your thoughts about Wisconsin Supreme Court elections  <\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Have feedback on this series or a perspective to share? We&#8217;d love to hear from you. Email editor Matthew DeFour at <a href=\"mailto: acostello@wisconsinwatch.org\">mdefour@wisconsinwatch.org.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"782\" height=\"521\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/asse6524132.jpg?resize=782%2C521&#038;quality=100&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"A row of wooden chairs and microphones sits beneath marble walls and a large framed painting of people gathered in a historical interior.\" class=\"wp-image-1311821\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/asse6524132.jpg?resize=782%2C521&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 782w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/asse6524132.jpg?resize=336%2C224&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 336w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/asse6524132.jpg?resize=140%2C93&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 140w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/asse6524132.jpg?resize=768%2C512&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/asse6524132.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/asse6524132.jpg?resize=780%2C520&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 780w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/asse6524132.jpg?resize=400%2C267&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/asse6524132.jpg?resize=706%2C471&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 706w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/asse6524132.jpg?w=1200&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/asse6524132-782x521.jpg?w=370&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 370w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 782px) 100vw, 782px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Wisconsin Supreme Court hearing room is seen Sept. 7, 2023, at the State Capitol in Madison, Wis. (Andy Manis for Wisconsin Watch)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-light-gray-background-color has-background\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Project credits<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Lead reporter: Larry Sandler for Wisconsin Watch<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Data and graphic designer: Hongyu Liu, Wisconsin Watch<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lead editor: Matthew DeFour, Wisconsin Watch<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Illustrator: Elena Delzer for Wisconsin Watch<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Digital editor and producer: Jeff Bauer, Wisconsin Watch<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><br><br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wisconsin Watch examines record spending in state Supreme Court elections, how Wisconsin became a national outlier and what can be done about it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":579,"featured_media":1311820,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"single-feature.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"gigafact_has_fact_brief":false,"gigafact_remote_fact_brief_post_id":0,"gigafact_remote_sync_timestamp":"","gigafact_remote_sync_status":"","gigafact_remote_sync_response":"","gigafact_has_been_published":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"newspack_content_restriction_is_exempt":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"hidden","newspack_hide_page_title":false,"newspack_show_share_buttons":false,"footnotes":""},"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[3682],"class_list":["post-1311927","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","entry"],"fact_brief":null,"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/supreme-costs-pricey-and-partisan-high-court-elections\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"WebPage","headline":"Supreme Costs: Wisconsin&#8217;s pricey and partisan high court elections","url":"http:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/supreme-costs-pricey-and-partisan-high-court-elections\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/supreme-costs-pricey-and-partisan-high-court-elections\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/asse6561930.jpg?fit=140%2C93&quality=100&ssl=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/asse6561930.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&quality=100&ssl=1"},"articleSection":"News &amp; 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