Wisconsin's new blue Supreme Court, explained

Liberals win hotly contested Wisconsin Supreme Court elections; Israeli police clash with Palestinian worshippers at Jerusalem holy site.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Jariel Arvin.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court’s new liberal majority

Jeff Schear/Getty Images for WisDems

• Wisconsin voters flipped the key swing state’s Supreme Court to liberal control for the first time in 15 years on Tuesday. [Vox / Ben Jacobs]
• Though officially nonpartisan, Democrat-backed Milwaukee County Judge Janet Protasiewicz defeated former state Justice Dan Kelly, who had support from Republicans and anti-abortion groups. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
• Liberals will control the court 4-3 as it weighs a challenge to an 1849 law that would ban most abortions in Wisconsin. [CNN / Gregory Krieg]
• Protasiewicz’s victory ensures a liberal court majority in the battleground state during 2024 elections. The current conservative-led court came within one vote of overturning President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in the state. [Associated Press / Scott Bauer]
• Protasiewicz will begin serving a 10-year term this summer. The high-stakes contest drew record turnout and over $40 million in spending, becoming the most expensive state judicial race ever. [BBC / Jude Sheerin]

📍 If you read just one story

Vox’s Nicole Narea explains how the new liberal majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court could impact state redistricting, uphold abortion rights, and protect democracy in 2024. [Vox / Nicole Narea]

Israeli police raid injures dozens

• Wednesday, Israeli police raided al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem and arrested hundreds of Palestinians who attempted to remain in the building. [Reuters / Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Sinan Abu Mayzer]
• Militants fired at least nine rockets at Israel in retaliation, prompting Israeli airstrikes on Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza. [CNN]
• Police say they stormed the mosque to remove Muslim worshippers who tried to stay overnight. [AP / Isabel Debre and Fares Akram]
• The al-Aqsa compound, which contains Islam’s third holiest site and the holiest in Judaism, has seen repeated clashes between Israelis and Palestinians. [CBS News / Haley Ott]
• At least 37 were injured in the violence, which comes as Muslims mark Ramadan and Jews begin Passover celebrations, raising fears it could lead to broader conflict. [Washington Post]

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Progressive former education organizer Brandon Johnson defeated moderate challenger Paul Vallas in Chicago’s mayoral race. [Vox / Christian Paz]

• House Speaker Kevin McCarthy met Wednesday with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in California, showing support for the island, despite warnings from China. [CNBC / Christina Wilkie]
• A bipartisan group of senators reintroduced the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act to keep a wide array of animals from becoming endangered species. [Washington Post / Maxine Joselow and Dino Grandoni]
• The Department of Justice on Wednesday announced a “tentative” $144.5 million settlement with victims of the 2017 mass shooting that killed 26 people at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. [CNN / Hannah Rabinowitz and Dakin Andone]

“Anger about Roe hasn’t dissipated. Fear for our democracy remains. Voters are still alarmed by the MAGA extremism of candidates like Dan Kelly. And if this race is an early bellwether — we can safely say that Republicans didn’t learn their lesson in 2022.”

[Sarah Dohl, chief campaigns officer for Indivisible, on the liberal Wisconsin Supreme Court victory / CNN] 

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