Waukesha Parade Judge Enters Race For WI Supreme Court: Reports

WISCONSIN — The judge who presided over the high-profile 2021 Waukesha Christmas parade trial announced a bid for the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Wednesday, according to multiple media reports.

Judge Jennifer Dorow entering the race would mean four people are running for the Badger State's highest court, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel first reported. Dorow's husband broke the news about the expected announcement on Tuesday, according to a report by TMJ4.

"After many discussions and a lot of prayer, I reached the conclusion that now is the right time for me and my family to pursue what I hope will be the next chapter of my judicial career," Dorow said at a news conference Wednesday, according to WISN12.

Dorow is the second conservative entering the race, according to a report by the Associated Press. Two liberal judges are also running in the race to replace a retiring conservative, with a 4-3 conservative majority at stake, the AP report noted.

Voters in Wisconsin and beyond likely gained familiarity with Dorow through the trial of the man convicted of murdering six in the 2021 Waukesha Christmas parade. The trial, which ended with Dorow handing down a prison sentence of hundreds of years, was streamed around the world.

Wisconsin electors will narrow the supreme court race with a primary election in February and then decide their next justice in April.

When news of Dorow's run broke, Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Ben Wikler asserted in a statement that she is entering the race as an "extremist Scott Walker appointee."

"Wisconsinites want fair maps, the ability to make their own health care decisions, and a Wisconsin Supreme Court that upholds the law and safeguards our freedoms," Wikler said in the statement from WisDems in part. "That is what is at stake in this election and we will work to hold Jennifer Dorow and her fellow MAGA Trump Republican, Dan Kelly, accountable."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.