Following a bitter and expensive campaign, the 2023 election for an open seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court set a record for turnout in a spring election not during a presidential year. On April 4, liberal candidate Janet Protasiewicz defeated the conservative candidate Daniel Kelly by 11 points – about 200,000 votes — a very wide gap for a state that has regularly seen elections decided by the slimmest of margins.

The race was the most expensive state Supreme Court battle in both Wisconsin and American history, after candidates and special interest groups poured more than $42 million into winning the decisive swing seat. The issue of abortion played a central role in the campaign, as did the partisan affiliations of the candidates, with each expressing contempt for the other.

Unofficial counts reported by the Associated Press show over 1.8 million votes were cast for the race, for a turnout of 51% of the over 3.5 million registered voters as of April 1. With the vast majority of votes tabulated, that marks a major increase in turnout over the previous comparable year of 2011, which had a turnout of 34% for another bitter state Supreme Court race held during a non-presidential year.

With Protasiewicz’s win, Democratic-backed justices make up a 4-3 majority on Wisconsin’s top court. She was vocal about supporting abortion rights and opposing the state’s most recent round of redistricting, and lawsuits over each issue are expected to come before the court after she takes office on Aug. 1.

Looking back on Election Day, here are a few trends that decided Wisconsin’s Supreme Court vote.

Democratic strongholds turn out

Dane and Milwaukee counties, whose votes lean heavily Democratic, overwhelmingly voted for Protasiewicz. Unofficial counts for Dane County show Protasiewicz secured around 197,000 votes — or 82% of the roughly 240,000 votes cast, while winning around 170,000 votes in MIlwaukee County — about 73% of about 233,000 total.

In all, Protaziewicz won seven out of Wisconsin’s 10 largest counties by population. She also saw majorities in counties like La Crosse, Eau Claire, Grant, Dunn and Pierce, all of which have UW System campuses.

Protasiewicz also outperformed expectations in the Fox Valley, which leans conservative but can swing toward liberal candidates. She carried Brown and Outagamie counties by four and two points respectively, as well as Winnebago County, which leans more liberal than the other two “BOW counties.”