Chris Taylor, a state appeals court judge and former Democratic state lawmaker, launched her campaign for state Supreme Court in May with plans to unseat conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley, who decided not to seek reelection.
Taylor is a liberal candidate in the technically nonpartisan race, though elections to the high court have become increasingly polarized. Maria Lazar, a former assistant attorney general who also sits on the court of appeals, is now a conservative candidate in the race after Bradley’s decision not to run. It’s unclear if more candidates will join.
Unlike last year’s high-profile Supreme Court election, the 2026 race won’t change the court’s majority. Justice Susan Crawford’s victory in 2024 guaranteed liberals will control the state Supreme Court at least through 2028. If Taylor wins, the court’s liberal majority would grow to 5-2; if Lazar wins, it will remain at 4-3.
Here’s what to know about Taylor, including her legal system experience, positions on key issues, education and more:
What is Chris Taylor’s job?
Taylor has served as a judge on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals for District IV, headquartered in Madison, since 2023. Her term expires July 31, 2029, according to the court’s website.
Over the course of her 30-year legal career, Taylor said she has worked to make sure “the law is used to protect Wisconsinites, their rights and freedoms.”
Before Gov. Tony Evers appointed Taylor to the Dane County Circuit Court in 2020, she served in the state Legislature, where she was known as one of the most liberal members.
Taylor also worked as a private practice attorney in Milwaukee and Madison from 1996 to 2002 before becoming a public policy director for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin.
How old is Chris Taylor?
Taylor is 57.
Where is Chris Taylor from?
Taylor lives in Madison with her husband, James Feldman, and their two sons. She grew up in Los Angeles.
Where did Chris Taylor go to college and law school?
Taylor received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1990. She then attended the University of Wisconsin Law School, graduating in 1995.
Who has endorsed Chris Taylor?
Taylor’s campaign has been endorsed by the liberal majority: Justices Rebecca Dallet, Jill Karofsky and Janet Protasiewicz. Crawford also endorsed Taylor.
“Having served alongside Judge Taylor on the Circuit Court, I know she cares deeply about the people of Wisconsin and is dedicated to making sure that our justice system protects their fundamental rights,” Crawford said in a statement on May 21.
What is Chris Taylor’s stance on abortion rights?
Taylor served as a public policy director for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin before joining the state Assembly in 2011. She said whether she would recuse herself from cases involving the organization would depend on the case.
“I would not categorically say because I worked for Planned Parenthood 15 years ago that I can’t hear a case on reproductive health care,” Taylor told the Journal Sentinel. “That would be like a judge who worked for a law firm 15 years ago who would say, ‘Well I can never take a case from that law firm.'”
The state Supreme Court ruled in July that an 1849 statute does not ban abortions in the state, affirming access in Wisconsin. It’s possible more lawsuits could be filed over abortion laws in Wisconsin and reach the high court.
What is Chris Taylor’s stance on ‘lame-duck’ laws?
As a lawmaker, Taylor weighed in on issues including the “lame-duck” laws that the Republican-controlled Legislature passed to scale back the powers of the incoming Democratic governor and attorney general following Republican losses in the 2018 election.
As a judge, Taylor said, she is not working as an advocate, and as a justice, she would decide on a case-by-case basis whether to recuse herself from litigation on underlying legislation she had voted on as a lawmaker.
During her time on the Appeals Court, Taylor said she has reviewed laws passed during her time in the state Legislature and hasn’t run into issues being fair and impartial.
What is Chris Taylor’s stance on voter ID?
During her time in the state Legislature, Taylor called on Republican leadership to release funding for a comprehensive voter ID informational campaign after voters were turned away from the polls in the spring 2016 election. The League of Women Voters joined Taylor in that effort.
Under Wisconsin’s voter ID law, the state was required to fund a public information campaign to educate voters on the new law and the identification needed to vote.
Taylor, a lawmaker at the time, said the spring elections revealed the state failed to fulfill its “obligation to educate voters about this convoluted, nonsensical new law” as many Wisconsinites lacked the proper documentation to successfully vote.
“While we know suppressing our ability to vote is the true intention behind this Voter ID legislation,” Taylor said in a press release in 2016. “As I tell my kids at home, if you’re going to change the rules, you need to let everyone else know. The solution here is simple — the GOP just needs to follow the law that they wrote.”
What is Chris Taylor’s stance on Act 10, union rights?
Taylor has been a vocal opponent of Act 10, a 13-year-old law signed by former Republican Gov. Scott Walker that banned most collective bargaining rights for public employees.
Act 10 could come before the state Supreme Court in the near future. In December 2024, a Dane County judge overturned the law but placed his ruling on hold, keeping the law in effect for now. The case is now at the appeals court after the Supreme Court denied a petition to take the case directly.
What have opponents said about Chris Taylor?
On her campaign website, Lazar says she “became a judge after a long legal career and my opponent has always been a politician first.”
“My opponent spent years in the legislature. I am fair, independent, and impartial; that is what every justice should be. This is a campaign to restore justice to our Supreme Court, not to place a partisan politician into a robe and on a court that stands atop our judicial system,” Lazar says.
Republican Party of Wisconsin chairman Brian Schimming has called Taylor a “radical progressive who will push far-left values through the court.”
When is the next Wisconsin Supreme Court election?
Wisconsin’s 2026 spring election, which includes the state Supreme Court race and other nonpartisan offices, is April 7. If additional candidates join Taylor and Lazar in the race, there will be a primary for the seat on Feb. 17.
Wisconsin’s general election, which include races for governor, state Legislature, U.S. House members and more, is Nov. 3, 2026. A primary for those partisan offices is set for Aug. 11.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Who is Chris Taylor? Where Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate stands on abortion rights, voter ID
Reporting by Anna Kleiber and Hope Karnopp, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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