Maria Lazar’s bizarre court election strategy: Take a hard right

Appeals Court Judge Maria Lazar is a candidate in the April 7 election for Wisconsin Supreme Court. Lazar was appointed by Republican Gov. Scott Walker has cheered on gerrymandering, fought against unions, attacked women’s reproductive rights, and published articles for the right-wing organization The Federalist Society.

By Pat Kreitlow

February 24, 2026

Recent appearances make it even harder to appeal to moderate voters in the upcoming Wisconsin Supreme Court election.

[Editor’s Note: This article has been corrected to show the election is April 7.]

Heading into Wednesday’s only Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate debate, Appeals Court Judge Maria Lazar will likely repeat the buzzwords she’s used throughout her campaign: independent, impartial, integrity, and judicial restraint. They are words, however, seemingly at odds with the groups she has been courting.

Lazar has made the rounds of three organizations that together form the Wisconsin Conservative Coalition, according to the progressive research group A Better Wisconsin Together. A Tuesday appearance before the Wolf River Area Patriots (and past appearances with the Northeast Wisconsin Patriots and the Fox Valley Initiative) put her in the good graces of groups that engage in election denialism and rhetoric that is opposed to women’s reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, and vaccines.

“Judge Lazar is actively and repeatedly courting the most extreme right-wing interests in Wisconsin,” said Lucy Ripp, communications director at A Better Wisconsin Together. “Her actions show she’d be a proud pawn advancing MAGA and the extreme right-wing’s unpopular agenda on the court, at the expense of our rights and freedoms.”

A Better Wisconsin Together has repeatedly criticized Lazar for her endorsement by Pro-Life Wisconsin, which seeks to ban abortion with no exceptions and has sought to codify disciplinary or criminal charges against doctors and nurses for providing abortion care.

Lazar will face Appeals Court Judge Chris Taylor, a former Democratic Assembly representative, on April 7 for the state Supreme Court seat being vacated with the retirement of conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley.

Author

Pat Kreitlow

The Founding Editor of UpNorthNews, Pat was a familiar presence on radio and TV stations in western Wisconsin before serving in the state Legislature. After a brief stint living in the Caribbean, Pat and wife returned to Chippewa Falls to be closer to their growing group of grandchildren. He now serves as UNN's chief political correspondent and host of UpNorthNews Radio, airing weekday mornings 6 a.m.-8 a.m on the Civic Media radio network and the UpNorthNews Facebook page.

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