As I have previously reported, Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley is up for reelection next spring, but she is so scared of her opponent, Judge Chris Taylor, that Braddley is looking for a way out of running again. She's hoping that Taco Don will appoint her to the Seventh Circuit Appellate Court.
Another sign that she isn't planning on running again is that she is alienating people with her extremist rhetoric as she recently did when the Supreme Court ended an 170-year-old abortion ban.
Another sure sign that Bradley is ready to hang up her robe is the fact that she raised no money whatsoever for her reelection:
Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley is up for reelection in 2026 but did not raise money in the most recent campaign finance reporting period that spans through the end of June, according to state records.
While Bradley did not raise any money, she did burn another bridge. On Tuesday, the Wisconsin State Court ruled that lawyers could take courses to improve cultural competency and the reduction of bias, voluntarily, for six hours of the required 30 hours of continuing legal education credits. To be clear, lawyers have to take 30 hours of courses each year, but they don't have to take the cultural awareness courses if they choose not to.
But that wasn't good enough for Bradley, who wrote the dissent [pdf] just to prove what a racist, bigoted bitch she is:
As Americans recoil from the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) movement in recognition of its insidious infringement of equal rights, the majority remains mired in the shameful past. DEI divides, sorting people into boxes based on their race, gender, and gender-identity and doling out preferences for some at the expense of others, in retribution for the sins of the past. What once was America’s melting pot has hardened with new hatreds, suspicions, and resentments. The individual is erased, belittled as nothing more than one of many members of a group who are noxiously presumed to think alike.
Two years ago, this court rightfully rejected the identity politics motivating the State Bar of Wisconsin's petition to create a special category of CLE credits on the subject of DEI. In my concurrence to the denial of Rule Petition 22—01, I accurately predicted a change in the court's membership would prompt the State Bar to return the petition to the court——and it would succeed. See S. Ct. Order 22-01, In the Matter of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access Training for Continuing Legal Education, ¶42 (July 13, 2023) (Rebecca Grassl Bradley, J., concurring)(attached as Appendix 1). The new petition bears a different moniker——"Cultural Competency and Reduction of Bias Training for Continuing Legal Education"——but no one is fooled. This is nothing more than DEI by another name.
The dogma of DEI "damage[s] human dignity, undermine[s] equality, and violate[s] the law." S. Ct. Order 22-01, ¶2 (Rebecca Grassl Bradley, J., concurring). That truth is increasingly self-evident, as more Americans recognize that the division of people along immutable characteristics dehumanizes everyone. It also defies America's commitment to equal protection under the law, a constitutional guarantee the members of this court swore an oath to uphold on behalf of all citizens.
I can't speak to what kind of life Bradley had that made her into such a bitter, hateful woman, but it seems to me that she is getting all riled up by people who want to treat other people with courtesy and respect. I don't see how that is dehumanizing or illegal. But I do know that it has gotten me out of some jams in my life with everybody saving face and no one being diminished.
And I am apparently not the only one. Her would-be opponent, Chris Taylor, raised $583,000 in the first few weeks of her campaign. To put it in perspective, that is about $120,000 more than Susan Crawford had at this stage in her campaign as she went on to beat Brad Schimel and President Elmo.
Come to think of it, I could see why Bradley is so anxious to get out of the race. She wouldn't stand a chance.
