Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Randy Koschnick may not be a household name right now, but if conservatives play their cards right on April 7, he may be the next state Supreme Court justice.
Koschnick is the underdog in his campaign against Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson. Few know of him, he’s raised a paltry sum of money, and Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, which basically bought the last two seats on the state’s highest court, has indicated that they’ll sit out this election.
But that doesn’t mean that Abrahamson is facing a cakewalk this election cycle. Koschnick, a social conservative, has been trying to malign Abrahamson’s long record by calling her a “judicial activist” who “legislates from the bench.” Koschnick’s allegations have been so spurious—they amount to dog whistles to the far right of the political spectrum—that Milwaukee County DA John Chisholm called him out on it in a recent forum.
Now, though, the Capital Times has run a must-read about Koschnick’s evangelical views. He’s espousing the same views as religious conservatives who believe in creationism, discriminate against gays and oppose abortion. Investigative bloggers have found that he’s made calls to Wisconsin Right to Life and the far-right Wisconsin Family Council from his taxpayer-funded work phone at the courthouse.
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If Koschnick can harness the religious conservatives in April and seem like such a longshot that moderates and liberals don’t get to the polls on Election Day, then he’ll be the next state Supreme Court justice.
