District II, Court of Appeals Judge Maria Lazar has announced a run for the open seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court previously held by conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley.
The campaign released a video “to showcase Judge Lazar’s intent to return integrity to the Supreme Court and counter the hundreds of millions of dollars spent to push a partisan narrative in these nonpartisan races,” a press release from Lazar’s campaign said.
In the video, she called herself an independent and impartial judge. Lazar said that “judicial ethics have been thrown out the window.” She added, “My opponent has always been a politician first.” (Chris Taylor, who is also running, is a former liberal state legislator.)
After consulting with my family, friends, colleagues, and lots of prayer, I am joining this race and asking for your support, strength, and most importantly, your vote on April 7, 2026 for State Supreme Court Justice. pic.twitter.com/OP9HjO1Sdu
— Judge Maria Lazar (@JudgeMariaLazar) October 1, 2025
“We need to draw a line in the sand and stop the destruction of our courts, especially our State Supreme Court,” Lazar said. “I am an independent, impartial judge who strives to follow the law and Constitution in every decision I make from the bench. It is time to restore that level of judicial dedication to the Court.”
Judge Lazar “will be spending the coming months of the campaign directly engaging with voters to garner support for her common sense approach to interpreting the Constitution and providing thoughtful decisions based on the rule of law,” the release added.
As a prosecutor, Lazar helped defend Act 10.
Who Else Is Running?
Lazar faces Chris Taylor, an Evers-appointed judge. According to WISN-TV, Taylor is a former Democratic state lawmaker who “was known as one of the most liberal members of the legislature and, before that, had worked as a public policy director for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin.”
She has declined to pledge to recuse herself on all cases involving Planned Parenthood that might come before the court.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wrote that Taylor “was known as one of the most liberal members” of the Wisconsin State Legislature.
The Wisconsin Republican Party has created a website accusing Taylor of being a radical progressive.
Who Is Maria Lazar?
She is a former prosecutor and Waukesha County circuit judge.
Judge Maria Lazar “has been a member of Wisconsin Court of Appeals since 2022. She was first elected to the Waukesha County Circuit Court in 2015 and maintained her seat on that court for seven years. Before her time on the bench she spent 5 years as an Assistant Attorney General at the Wisconsin Department of Justice, as well as more than 20 years as an attorney in private practice,” the release says.
“Judge Lazar and her husband, Tom, live in Waukesha County and have two adult children, their son, a talented computer programmer, and their daughter, who is pursuing a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering.”
Lazar released a website: JudgeMariaLazar.com
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