ICYMI: ABC News: Obama attorney general endorses candidate in Wisconsin Supreme Court race

March 17, 2025

Washington, D.C. — Just ahead of his March 17th trip to Wisconsin, ABC News reported, “Eric Holder, who served as attorney general of the United States under President Barack Obama, will be campaigning in support of Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Susan Crawford, according to the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, which Holder chairs”. 

Since 2018, Eric H. Holder, Jr., the 82nd Attorney General of the United States and Chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC), has made numerous trips to mobilize voters, raised millions of dollars, and brought increased national attention to critical state-level races in Wisconsin. Specifically, the NDRC made investments in the Wisconsin Supreme Court races in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2023. All of this contributed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court going from an ideologically-driven, conservative court to one that is independent, fair-minded, and pro-democracy. 

As Attorney General Holder said to ABC News, “The fight for our democracy is unfolding at the ballot box in Wisconsin. This race is a choice between a court majority that is fair, balanced, and pro-democracy, and one that is anti-democracy, acting as another arm of an extreme right-wing agenda.”

Read the full story from ABC News, below: 

ABC News: Obama attorney general endorses candidate in Wisconsin Supreme Court race

Eric Holder, who served as attorney general of the United States under President Barack Obama, will be campaigning in support of Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Susan Crawford, according to the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, which Holder chairs.

Holder is among the first major national leaders to campaign in support of Crawford.

“The fight for our democracy is unfolding at the ballot box in Wisconsin. This race is a choice between a court majority that is fair, balanced, and pro-democracy, and one that is anti-democracy, acting as another arm of an extreme right-wing agenda,” Holder said in a statement to ABC News.

“Judge Susan Crawford is the commonsense candidate Wisconsinites want and deserve on their state’s highest court – someone who will follow the facts and the law as she evaluates the cases before her,” he added.

While the race is technically nonpartisan, Crawford is running with the support of Democrats, while her opponent, Brad Schimel, has the support of Republicans.

Redistricting, or the redrawing of congressional and legislative district maps based on population data, is one of the issues that has come up in the closely watched race because the court has previously dealt with redistricting cases.

In 2024, the court ruled in favor of keeping Wisconsin’s current congressional district map in place after previously rejecting legislative district maps.

Holder will be campaigning in support of Crawford on Monday in Madison, Wisconsin, and on Tuesday in Milwaukee.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court election is on April 1, and the contest for the seat of retiring Justice Ann Walsh Bradley is technically a nonpartisan race, though whoever wins the seat will help determine the ideological bent of the court — which currently leans liberal.

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