2007 Wisconsin Supreme Court election
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April 3, 2007
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 Ziegler: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Clifford: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||
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| Elections in Wisconsin |
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The 2007 Wisconsin Supreme Court election was held on April 3, 2007, to elect a justice to the Wisconsin Supreme Court for a ten-year term. Washington County circuit court judge Annette Ziegler defeated Madison attorney Linda M. Clifford. As more than two candidates filed to run, a nonpartisan election was held on February 20, 2007 in which attorney Joseph Sommers was eliminated. Incumbent justice Jon P. Wilcox did not seek re-election.
Primary election
[edit]Candidates
[edit]Advanced
[edit]- Linda M. Clifford, attorney[1]
- Annette Ziegler, judge of the Washington County Circuit Court (Branch 2)[1]
Eliminated in primary
[edit]- Joseph Sommers, attorney[1]
Declined
[edit]- Jon P. Wilcox, incumbent justice[2]
Primary results
[edit]
- Ziegler—30–40%
- Ziegler—40–50%
- Ziegler—50–60%
- Ziegler—60–70%
- Ziegler—70–80%
- Ziegler—80–90%
- Clifford—40–50%
General election
[edit]Campaign
[edit]A major focus of the campaign was the ideological lean of the candidates. Zeigler was described as being ideologically conservative, while Clifford was described as being ideologically liberal.[3][4] The outgoing judge, Jon P. Wilcox, was an ideological conservative. At the time of the election, the court was considered to have a "liberal majority" ideological composition, with 3 liberal justices, 3 conservative justices, and 1 centrist justice.[5]
Results
[edit]Since Ziegler's victory meant the seat remained held by a conservative, no shift occurred to the court's ideological lean.[5]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary Election (February 20, 2007)[6] | |||||
| Nonpartisan | Annette Ziegler | 164,916 | 57.04 | ||
| Nonpartisan | Linda M. Clifford | 78,501 | 27.15 | ||
| Nonpartisan | Joseph Sommers | 44,835 | 15.51 | ||
| Scattering | 860 | 0.30 | |||
| Total votes | 100 | ||||
| General election (April 3, 2007)[7] | |||||
| Nonpartisan | Annette Ziegler | 487,422 | 58.61 | ||
| Nonpartisan | Linda M. Clifford | 342,371 | 41.17 | ||
| Scattering | 1,864 | 0.22 | |||
| Total votes | 831,657 | 100 | |||
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 "Three to make run for state Supreme Court". Republican Eagle. January 2, 2007. Retrieved April 6, 2025.
- ↑ Forster, Stacy (March 28, 2006). "Wilcox to Retire in '07 from Supreme Court". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on March 11, 2007. Retrieved April 14, 2019 – via Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Lueders, Bill (April 4, 2007). "Linda Clifford's Lost Cause". Wisconsin Law Journal. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
- ↑ "Ziegler, Clifford Will Face Off". Isthmus. February 26, 2007. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
- 1 2 Ball, Alan (April 5, 2025). "A Liberal High-Water Mark?". SCOW Stats. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
- ↑ Results of Spring Primary Election - 02/20/2007 (Report). Wisconsin State Elections Board. March 6, 2007. p. 1. Retrieved April 6, 2025.
- ↑ Results of Spring General Election - 04/03/2007 (Report). Wisconsin State Elections Board. April 23, 2007. p. 1. Retrieved April 6, 2025.