Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Randy Koschnick announced his candidacy for the state Supreme Court Monday at the Capitol.
Koschnick will run against incumbent state Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson in the spring election to be held April 7.
Abrahamson, who has served on the court for 32 years and has been chief justice since 1996, welcomed Koschnick to the campaign trail in a statement.
Koschnick called for Abrahamson to agree to a clean-campaign pledge outlining standards of conduct in an effort to lessen the influence of special-interest groups on the election.
This race should focus only on our records and our philosophies, not on lies and personal attacks funded by third-party groups,"" Koschnick said.
Despite the candidates' endorsement of a more independent election, Wisconsin Democracy Campaign Executive Director Mike McCabe said interest groups will likely play a large role in this spring's election as in past elections.
According to McCabe, four interest groups paid for 90 percent of the attack ads in the race between state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman and former Justice Louis Butler this past spring.
Likewise, the contest between state Supreme Court Justice Annette Ziegler and Linda Clifford in 2007 set records for spending by outside interest groups.
""Unless there are major reforms that are put in place that get at the poisons that are seeping into our judicial elections, I think what's happened in the last two races is going to be replicated in the spring,"" McCabe said.
One of the problems with Supreme Court elections, according to McCabe, is they are becoming more and more partisan.
Abrahamson said in a statement it is ""essential"" for judicial candidates to be nonpartisan and for judges not to make decisions based on political beliefs.
""People need to know that when it's their day in court, the judge will be a fair, even-handed and independent decision-maker of justice,"" she said.
