Last night, Judge Janet Protasiewicz defeated conservative nominee Dan Kelly to become the next Wisconsin Supreme Court justice, and flipped the court to a progressive 4-3 majority.

This is a major victory for democracy. Justice-elect Protasiewicz and her fellow progressive-leaning justices could have the opportunity to toss out Republicans’ egregiously gerrymandered electoral maps and safeguard against GOP attempts to subvert the outcome of future national elections.

This is a major victory for abortion access. The court could have the chance to overturn an 1800s-era law that went into effect after the reversal of Roe that currently makes abortion illegal throughout the state.

Progressive wins like this are possible because of the incredible work of this grassroots community.

The Swing Left community—in Wisconsin, near Wisconsin, and across the country— made 172,000 calls to voters, knocked on 4,600 doors, and helped write 317,000+ Vote Forward letters to potential voters with fellow pro-democracy partners.

This community also contributed more than $127,000 to help strengthen on-the-ground voter mobilization efforts—led by WisDems, America Votes - Wisconsin, Leaders Igniting Transformation, and Wisconsin Conservation Voters—and to combat an onslaught of MAGA extremist donations flooding the state.

We hope you take a moment (or two, or three) to take it in. This is democracy in action. Thank you!

On the heels of Democrats’ impressive midterm elections performance, the timing of this victory also sends a clear message nationally: If the GOP continues to be the party of MAGA extremism and continues to support radical Republican candidates, we’ll continue to defeat them at the ballot box.

Stay tuned for some exciting announcements in the coming weeks about our plans to keep defeating the radical right in 2023, 2024, and beyond. For now, enjoy this hard-earned win.

The Swing Left Team