Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Chris Taylor visited the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus Thursday to talk with students and volunteers and mobilize young voters ahead of the April 7 election.
Taylor met with students and volunteers tabling on Library Mall to discuss her vision if elected to the court, saying her priority is protecting the rights of “actual everyday Wisconsinites.”
Taylor emphasized the importance of getting students out to vote.
“I care about [students] and their lives, and I want them to have a court that protects them, stands up for them and makes sure that they're treated fairly,” Taylor told The Daily Cardinal. “Making your voice heard is easy to do when you get out to vote, but I hope that your generation collectively exercises that power, because it will transform government.”
Students told Taylor they were concerned about reproductive healthcare and freedom of speech on campus.
“I’m just really excited for what Chris Taylor brings to the court,” UW-Madison freshman PJ Mulkey said. “I feel like a lot of her views on a lot of different decisions feel really supportive of free speech and students’ rights.”
Taylor noted this race is lower profile compared to last April's supreme court race between Susan Crawford and Brad Schimel, which was the most expensive judicial race in U.S. history and determined the ideological balance of the court.
Taylor said her opponent, Wisconsin Court of Appeals Judge Maria Lazar, has brought a “political agenda to the bench” and further criticized Lazar saying she often sides with the “far right” in the Court of Appeals.
Taylor, a former Democratic lawmaker serving in the Assembly from 2011 to 2020, is endorsed by the Wisconsin Democrats, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin and Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin. Current Wisconsin Supreme Court Justices Rebecca Dallet, Janet Protasiewicz, Susan Crawford and Chief Justice Jill Karofsky have also endorsed her.
“I don’t back away from my time in the legislature, because I’m proud of that work, and it’s made me a better judge,” Taylor said.
Students also said they appreciated her background in the state legislature.
“It's really great that she served in the state legislature, and now she’s interpreting the law. She has a really good background to really analyze these laws correctly,” UW-Madison freshman Jackson Hanna said.
Mulkey stressed the importance of spring elections, saying they “really do matter, and they can impact your life.”
The Wisconsin Supreme Court election will take place on April 7. Voters can find their polling locations here.
Staff Writer
