EXPOSED: Wisconsin Supreme Court Candidate Caught Red-Handed Making False Claims
Fair Elections Wisconsin (FEW), a grassroots election integrity organization, has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Susan Crawford, the Democrat-backed candidate for Wisconsin’s Supreme Court, demanding she stop making false claims about her Republican-backed opponent, Brad Schimel.
The letter, dated March 7, 2025, accuses Crawford of violating Wisconsin’s judicial code of conduct by spreading misleading statements during her campaign.
Crawford, a Dane County Circuit Court Judge, is running against Schimel, a Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge, in what has become a heated race for a seat on the state’s highest court.
The election has drawn significant attention due to its potential to shift the court’s balance, with the current majority consisting of four liberal justices to three conservatives.
The cease-and-desist letter, sent by FEW President Justin Gavery, claims that Crawford has made multiple false statements about Schimel’s record as Wisconsin’s Attorney General, particularly regarding the handling of rape kits and abortion laws.
Gavery states that Crawford’s actions are a violation of Wisconsin’s Code of Judicial Conduct, which prohibits judicial candidates from making false or misleading statements about their opponents.
“Judicial candidates, including incumbents and challengers, must refrain from making false, misleading, or deceptive statements,” Gavery’s letter reads.
“The Wisconsin Code of Judicial Conduct explicitly prohibits judicial candidates from knowingly misrepresenting any fact concerning themselves, their opponents, or matters relevant to the campaign.”
According to the letter, Crawford falsely claimed that Schimel ignored rape cases during his tenure as Attorney General and failed to address a backlog of thousands of untested rape kits.
Gavery refuted these claims, stating that when Schimel took office in 2015, there were approximately 6,000 untested kits.
By the end of his term, Schimel’s office had tested all the kits in need of testing, and a process was put in place to prevent future backlogs.
In addition to the claims about rape kits, Gavery also disputes Crawford’s assertion that Schimel supports the 1849 abortion law, which criminalizes most abortions in Wisconsin.
Gavery stated that Schimel has repeatedly stated he holds no position on abortion and believes such laws should be decided by public referendum or legislative action, rather than by judicial fiat.
Crawford’s campaign also allegedly misrepresented Schimel’s stance on voter suppression, accusing him of supporting such practices, which Gavery claims is untrue.
Furthermore, Crawford and her supporters have accused Schimel of being “soft on crime,” but Gavery refuted these claims, pointing to a specific case where Schimel’s office had sought a harsher sentence for a convicted child pornographer, but the judge did not impose the recommended sentence.
In the letter, Gavery demanded that Crawford cease and desist from making any further false statements and warned that failure to comply would result in further legal action.
“Please stop and desist from any further contact with others, public or private, until you have reviewed the above matters and you can verify that they are truthful statements. The people of Wisconsin deserve nothing less,” Gavery’s letter concluded.
As of Monday, March 10, 2025, Gavery stated that he had not received any response from Crawford’s campaign, and she continues to make the same false claims about Schimel.
The race between Schimel and Crawford has become one of the most expensive and closely watched elections in Wisconsin, with early voting already underway.
A recent poll by Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce showed the race to be deadlocked, with both candidates tied at 47% among likely voters.
The election is significant not only because of the potential to shift the ideological balance of the court, but also because of the large sums of money flowing into the race.
Election spending has already surpassed $81 million, with projections suggesting it could reach $100 million by Election Day.
Schimel has raised over $12 million, including $6 million from the Wisconsin Republican Party, while Crawford has raised over $25 million, including contributions from progressive figures such as billionaire George Soros and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker.
As the race enters its final stretch, both candidates are working hard to secure votes, and the false claims made during the campaign will likely remain a point of contention.
With more than 345,000 voters already casting their ballots, nearly 48% more than at this point in the 2023 election, the stakes are high for both sides as they approach the April 1 election day.
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