5 Takeaways From This Year’s State Supreme Court Races

This year’s general election saw dozens of candidates win seats on state high courts, with Democrats and Republicans securing respective majorities in Michigan and Ohio. One new justice even made history.

Although most of the supreme court races weren’t partisan, the two political parties vied for the opportunity to control the court’s ideological balance, which can impact how high courts rule. While every justice is expected to uphold the law, liberal and conservative justices often interpret laws differently and decisions hinge on having a majority, as best exemplified by the nation’s highest court.

“State supreme court judges make more decisions that impact people’s rights and liberties now in the post-Dobbs world,” said Deirdre Schifeling, ACLU’s chief political and advocacy officer, “but also [due to the] U.S. Supreme Court stripping away a number of federal protections for rights and liberties, Dobbs being the most famous among them.”

Here are five takeaways from this year’s election:

1. Michigan’s Supreme Court is even more liberal

Michigan’s high court now holds a 5-2 liberal majority after two Democratic candidates prevailed in their races. Justice Kyra Harris Bolden won her bid to keep her seat against 15th Circuit Court Judge Patrick O’Grady. Kimberly Ann Thomas, a University of Michigan law professor, beat GOP state Rep. Andrew Fink to replace retiring conservative Justice David Viviano.

Bolden, 36, became Michigan’s first Black woman justice when Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) appointed her to the court in 2022. “Are you ready to protect justice for generations,” a tearful Bolden asked a crowd of supporters Wednesday.

Bolden previously mounted a bid for the court in 2022 but lost that race. “I stand here before you today, not only as the first Black woman to serve on the Michigan Supreme Court,” she said, “but the first chosen by each and every one of you.” 

2. Republicans dominate Ohio’s high court

In Ohio, Justice Melody Stewart (D) lost her reelection bid against opponent and fellow Justice Joe Deters, a former prosecutor appointed to the court last year who was seeking a full term. Two other Democrats also lost, bringing the court to a 6-1 Republican majority.

For Stewart, the loss marked the end of a historic tenure. In 2018 she became Ohio’s first Black woman to be elected to the state’s high court. But this election was Ohio’s first state supreme court race that was openly partisan.

Prior to the election, Stewart told Democracy Docket she disagreed with jurists running partisan campaigns. Voters should consider experience, she said, not political affiliation. “The politicization of the court does not serve any legitimate purpose.” She wasn’t alone. Last year, Justice Jennifer Brunner, now the only liberal jurist on the court, sued over the 2021 law.

3. Kentucky gets its first Black woman justice

State appeals court Judge Pamela Goodwine became Kentucky’s first Black woman justice, beating lawyer Erin Izzo for a seat on the seven-member court.

“I am deeply honored for the trust you have placed in me to serve you as a Justice on the Kentucky Supreme Court!” Goodwine said in a statement. “Our campaign stood firmly on experience, honesty and a commitment to impartiality and the rule of law to protect and serve every citizen.” Kentucky’s supreme court races are nonpartisan, but Democratic donors backed Goodwine’s campaign, while Izzo received endorsements from local Republican parties.

4. Liberal justice in North Carolina court faces tight race

As of Friday, North Carolina Justice Allison Riggs, one of two Democrats on the state’s seven-member court, was still locked in a tight race with GOP opponent Jefferson Griffin, a state appeals court judge. 

Riggs losing would mean the court’s 5-2 conservative majority would increase to 6-1, leaving just one Democrat on the court. North Carolina Public Radio reported Thursday that Griffin was leading Riggs by fewer than 10,000 votes.

The makeup of North Carolina’s court can have a substantial impact on the outcome of democracy-related cases. In 2022, for example, the court’s then-Democratic majority struck down the state’s legislative and congressional maps for being partisan gerrymanders in violation of the North Carolina Constitution. But after the court’s majority flipped to Republican control, the court almost immediately reversed the decision, ruling that partisan gerrymandering claims are not justiciable under the state constitution.

5. Wisconsin seat is up for grabs in 2025

Next year, candidates will run to replace retiring Justice Ann Walsh Bradley on Wisconsin’s highest court. Dane County Judge Susan Crawford is running to maintain the court’s 4-3 liberal majority secured last year when Janet Protasiewicz won her race against conservative former state Supreme Court Justice Dan Kelly.

Crawford is running against former Republican state Attorney General Brad Schimel, a Waukesha County judge who announced his campaign for Bradley’s seat last year. Whoever is elected on April 1, 2025 will serve a 10-year term. 

After 2023’s expensive and highly partisan judicial race, legal experts told Democracy Docket that next year’s race is sure to be just as political, and for good reason. It was the court’s newly liberal majority that overturned a 2022 ruling (by a then-conservative majority) that banned the use of drop boxes throughout the state.

Read more about how state supreme court races impact democracy