Elections

Meet the candidates for Wisconsin Supreme Court likely to be the decisive vote on abortion, gerrymandering continued from page 1 sense of decency in our elections.”

At a candidate forum last month, Dorow said she would “unequivocally” support the other conservative candidate, Daniel Kelly, in the general election if he advances instead of her.

She has raised more than $360,000, according to filings with the state. She has received $20,000 donations, the maximum allowed by law, from Remi Harris of Mequon and Juan Perez of Milwaukee. Dorow has received $15,000 from Richard Kessler of Okauchee, Wisconsin.

And she has received $10,000 donations from Donald Zietlow, owner and former CEO of Kwik Trip; Ronald, Steven and Glenda Buholzer of Monroe, Martin Gallun of Oconomowoc, Jan Fedler of Dodgeville, Robert Fettig of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin and Michael Shannon of Denver, Colorado.

Daniel Kelly (right-wing candidate)

Kelly is a former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice who then-Gov. Scott Walker appointed in 2016. Kelly lost his reelection bid to current Supreme Court Justice Jill Karofsky in 2020.

He calls himself a “constitutional conservative.”

Like Dorow, Kelly also earned his law degree from Regent University School of Law.

He touts himself on his campaign website as an “experienced and trustworthy judicial conservative who will apply the law as it is written, rather than legislate from the bench. His opponents are judicial activists who seek to impose their own political agenda on our state.”

After leaving the Wisconsin Supreme Court, Kelly became a senior fellow at the right-wing nonprofit organization the Institute for Reforming Government, which states that it aims to “remove the onerous barriers and red tape separating the individual from an efficient and functioning government.”

Current Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley, Wisconsin Court of Appeals Judge Shelley Grogan and 19 active and retired sheriffs from several counties, including Waukesha and Washington, have endorsed Kelly. Two anti-abortion organizations, Wisconsin Right to Lifeand Pro-Life Wisconsin, also have endorsed him.

Kelly repeatedly has said he will not endorse Dorow if she advances to the general election. The candidate maintains that he is wary that his endorsement of Dorow would yield a result similar to Kelly’s endorsement of Supreme Court Justice Brian Hagedorn, who, Kelly states, has become insufficiently conservative since being elected to the high state court in 2019.

Hagedorn occasionally has sided with the leftwing block of the court, stating that he follows the law, rather than politics, when making judicial rulings.

Kelly has reported raising more than $300,000, according to filings with the state. Kelly has received $20,000 donations, the maximum allowed by state law, from both Dick and Liz Uihlein, the billionaire right-wing donors and founders of the shipping supply company ULINE, and from Stephen Kieffer of Princeton, Wisconsin.

Everett Mitchell (left-wing candidate)

A judge on the Dane County Circuit Court overseeing the juvenile division, Mitchell has worked with colleagues to incorporate trauma-informed practices in the courtroom. Those practices include removing handcuffs on youth during hearings, according to his campaign website.

The judge’s website also states that he has worked with the Madison Metropolitan School District to create an Office of Youth Engagement that connects youth in the criminal justice system to educational programming.

He earned his law degree from the