Special Edition Newsletter
April 6th, 2023
Tuesday’s Wisconsin Supreme Court election was not only a win for reproductive rights, but also acted as a case study, testing the degree to which abortion rights mobilize voters in the post Roe v. Wade era.
Janet Protasiewicz, the pro-choice candidate for Wisconsin Supreme Court, defeated anti-choice Daniel Kelly by over 200,000 votes in a pivotal victory that gives the Wisconsin Supreme Court a pro-choice majority for the first time in 15 years.
As important as the win itself is how Judge Protasiewicz won: through framing this election as a direct referendum on reproductive rights and through the unprecedented fiscal support from donors across the country. These donors funded communication campaigns educating the public and making a direct connection between this race and the right to obtain abortion healthcare in Wisconsin.
The result was not only the most expensive judicial election in American history but also a record-breaking 52% voter turnout increase, demonstrating that young voters will participate in elections in much higher numbers when they understand that reproductive rights are directly on the ballot.
We cannot overstate the significant role of abortion messaging in helping Janet win.
A majority of U.S. citizens, of all age groups, support the legality of abortion in all or most cases, as depicted here by the Pew Research Center. Abortion is a winning message, nationally.
The importance of abortion rights in turning out younger voters cannot be overstated. In Wisconsin’s Dane County – home to thousands of University of Wisconsin students – pro-choice Judge Protasiewicz saw her vote total grow 64% compared to the last Supreme Court election in 2019. Her anti-choice challenger achieved barely half that.
This success can not – and should not – be unique to Wisconsin. Project 50 is implementing the exact strategies that worked for Judge Protasiewicz in various local elections across the country, securing reproductive rights at the state level.
Project 50 invests in supporting or developing organizations within each state and providing them with resources to establish a sustainable process to identify pro-choice candidates, recruit and train them, and help them win elections.
How do we win elections? By directly communicating with voters in targeted districts with well-tested messaging about the position of each candidate on abortion rights.
This strategy is tested and proven, as demonstrated in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race this week.
Reproductive rights can and will turn out new voters in record numbers, and it is imperative to replicate the successful abortion messaging in Wisconsin on a national level. We must strike while the iron is hot and the national attention is focused on abortion.
But we cannot do this without your help. We hope you will consider supporting our consequential work by either donating here or contacting us at info@project50.net to discuss other ways in which you might help steward our efforts across the country.
In solidarity,
Team Project 50
Paid for by Project 50 (project50.net) and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.