By Evan Vorpahl

The most expensive judicial election in United States history will take place in Wisconsin on April 4, and right-wing dark money groups are spending unprecedented amounts to back State Supreme Court candidate Daniel Kelly in this nominally nonpartisan race.

Kelly, who is backed by the Republican Party, is facing off against Milwaukee Circuit Court Judge Janet Protasiewicz, who has said she is running to restore confidence in the state’s highest court, which has been dominated by right-wing partisans issuing decisions siding with the GOP. She is backed by the Wisconsin Democratic Party and has been endorsed by numerous former judges as well as three other members of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

One of the main issues in the race is Wisconsin’s archaic 1849 abortion ban that is now in play due to last year’s decision by the right-wing U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade. Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul has challenged the law, and the case could be heard by Wisconsin’s highest court as early as this fall. People in Wisconsin, as with most of the U.S. public, strongly support access to safe and legal abortion and oppose interference by politicians in the reproductive health decisions of doctors and patients.

Read the full article on Truthout here.