Liberal judge Rebecca Dallet wins Wisconsin Supreme Court race: AP

[April 04, 2018]    (Reuters) - Liberal judge Rebecca Dallet cruised to victory in race to serve on the Wisconsin Supreme Court for a 10-year term, the Associated Press reported late on Tuesday.

Dallet defeated conservative judge Michael Screnock who was endorsed by Wisconsin's Republican governor, Scott Walker, narrowing conservative control of the court to 4-3 from 5-2, AP said.

The candidates were backed by partisans with Screnock supported by the National Rifle Association and the state GOP which backed him with a $400,000 contribution. Dallet received the support of former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, according to the report.

Dallet, who has been a Milwaukee County circuit judge since 2008, will join the higher court in August, AP reported.

The Democrats scored an upset in a Wisconsin state Senate special election in January, capturing a conservative district held by Republicans since 2000.

A judge had ruled in March that Governor Walker must hold special elections in two state districts in Wisconsin after Democrats said he was putting off the votes over fears of losing the formerly Republican-held seats.

Wisconsin was among the handful of battleground states that helped Trump win the presidency over Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in the 2016 elections. Trump carried Wisconsin by 22,748 votes.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)

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