Judge Chris Taylor on Wisconsin Supreme Court Race
3/31/202616 mincomplete
0:03Donald Trump just got a rude awakening, not just in the size of those No
0:07Kings protests, by the way.
0:09What I just showed you at the outset was in Madison, Wisconsin's No Kings protests.
0:14More on that in a moment.
0:15But the latest Gallup poll measuring voter ID was just released.
0:21And since the history of Gallup measuring voter ID, never before have the Republicans been
0:28so low and Democrats surging ahead so high, let's take a look at the Gallup
0:34voter ID poll that was just released.
0:37Folks, it is a plus 10 Democrat advantage in voter ID.
0:42This is the largest ever recorded party ID advantage that Dems have had in any
0:48quarter since Gallup started tracking this back in the first quarter of 2015.
0:54And Republicans have never fallen below 40.
0:58And right now they are at 39 and they are sinking even more.
1:02Just look right here at this graph.
1:05You can see in Gallup's quarterly partisan affiliation poll on this chart right here, you
1:11can see Democrats surging and you can see Republicans tanking.
1:16And that's like a straight line down right now.
1:19You see the Republicans taking, you know, I'm just reminded also getting into this mess
1:24with Donald Trump's fraudulent promises.
1:27I'm going to do this.
1:29We'll make things affordable on day one.
1:31And all of the gimmicks that have now been utterly exposed.
1:34Donald Trump's in a disastrous and catastrophic war in Iran that continues to escalate.
1:39Prices continue to surge. Gas prices, prices of groceries.
1:43People can't afford rent. People are psychologically tortured living paycheck to paycheck here if they're
1:48lucky enough to get a paycheck.
1:49Healthcare is being ripped away from people in the United States, in places like Wisconsin
1:53and all states across this country.
1:56Here's what Donald Trump did in Wisconsin.
1:57Remember this stunt where he dressed as like a garbage man on October 30th, 2024?
2:02Like, I'm taking the garbage out.
2:04And like the corporate media was like, look, he's doing the garbage man stunt.
2:08And we were calling this out.
2:09We're like, he's going to destroy the United States.
2:12Here, play this clip just to remind you of what went down.
2:15Play this clip. How do you like my garbage truck?
2:17This truck is in honor of Kamala and Joe Biden.
2:21As I think about Wisconsin and I think about the midterms, I think it's important
2:26that we also remember that there are a lot of races that are taking place
2:29before the midterms. Supreme Court state races, critical.
2:35Remember back on April 1st of 2025, when now Supreme Court Justice Susan Crawford went
2:42on to defeat the MAGA Republican Brad Schimmel, who was backed by Elon Musk.
2:48Remember Trump and Musk threw all that money into Wisconsin to try to crush now
2:54Justice Susan Crawford. And she went on to prevail.
2:57We had her on multiple times on the Midas Touch podcast.
3:00I just want to remind you quickly of her win.
3:02This was from April 1st, 2025, when Trump and Musk threw everything at her and
3:07she prevailed. Here, play this clip.
3:09I've got to tell you, as a little girl growing up in Chippewa Falls, I
3:14never could have imagined that I'd be taking on the richest man in the world
3:29for justice in Wisconsin. And we won.
3:38I wanted to show you that because Wisconsin, which is being absolutely under severe attack
3:45by the Trump regime, they have a critical Supreme Court race that is set to
3:50take place on April 7th.
3:52And this race is critical to expand the pro -democracy coalition's four to three majority.
3:59There are going to be like four other races kind of thereafter in the coming
4:03months and time. But this one's April 7th.
4:07Early voting is right now.
4:09And so I want to introduce you to someone by the name of Judge Chris
4:13Taylor. She served at basically every level of government.
4:17I mean, first, she started off as a lawyer for Planned Parenthood.
4:20She's been a state legislature legislator.
4:23She's been a trial court judge, a court of appeals judge.
4:26And she's really representing the pro -democracy ticket in this race for a Supreme Court
4:31justice seat that's now open on the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
4:35So right now it's a four to three pro -democracy majority.
4:38It's critical that Wisconsin expand that and not take any of this for granted.
4:43I want to bring in an incredible judge, Judge Chris Taylor, who's running for that
4:49Supreme Court justice seat in this four to three currently pro -democracy majority, as I
4:55like to call it. There is this pro -democracy majority that's taken hold.
5:00This could solidify and expand that.
5:03And we should never take anything for granted.
5:05And I know there was somebody in the seat that you're running for who was
5:10viewed as so far out of touch with.
5:11the people of Wisconsin and so right -wing, radical, anti -democracy that not even running,
5:18but it's a very competitive race.
5:19People need to focus on it.
5:21So Judge, I want to get into your background a little bit, but tell us
5:23the stakes first about this election and why it's so important.
5:27Well, the stakes are huge.
5:29I mean, we have seen an erosion of our basic rights and liberties at the
5:34federal level. We have seen attacks on our valid elections here in Wisconsin.
5:40There were numerous lawsuits brought to overturn the 2020 election, even though it was a
5:46valid, fair election. I don't think those attacks are going to stop.
5:51And we have constant attacks and lawsuits being brought to try to prevent eligible citizens
5:59and make it harder for them to vote.
6:01We are currently actually being sued, the state of Wisconsin, by the federal government.
6:06They want to get access to our private voting information.
6:09So we have a ton at stake here in Wisconsin.
6:13There is a pro -democracy majority right now.
6:16By one vote, all these important cases are being decided, but also we have four
6:22elections coming up after mine.
6:24So the composition of this court can change on a dime and there is so
6:29much at stake in protecting our rights, in protecting our democracy, and protecting the independence
6:35of our state against the overreach of the federal government that we're seeing.
6:40Did you ever think, you know, I've been a lawyer for a while.
6:45I mean, I went to law school, you know, being a true believer in the
6:50rule of law, but then seeing how our justice department or the injustice department has
6:56behaved, seeing the rule of law be trampled on.
6:59I sometimes fear that my audience may think I'm being hyperbolic when I describe the
7:07crisis from the perspective of like why I loved being a lawyer and what I
7:13see now. But when I call this out as authoritarianism and when I describe what
7:19we're seeing here as what we see in Orban's Hungary and Putin's Russia and places
7:24like that, I just, that's at least the goal, I feel, of a lot of
7:29these kind of MAGA people and what they want to achieve.
7:32And one of the ways they're trying to do it is attack the courts, put
7:37their plants in the courts, and then erode from within.
7:41Talk to us about that.
7:42Yeah. I mean, I never thought I would see this attack on an independent judiciary.
7:49I mean, at the federal level, you have seen, you know, federal lower district courts
7:54who are just trying to do their job.
7:56A lot of these judges were appointed by Republicans and they have been threatened with
8:01impeachment. They've been targeted for violence and threats.
8:05This is really concerning because our system of government depends on a fiercely independent judiciary.
8:13The judiciary is not a rubber stamp of the other branches of government.
8:16The judiciary is a check on the other branches of government.
8:21That is why I'm running.
8:22We need to have a strong court that is going to hold the other branches
8:27of government accountable when they act unlawfully and unconstitutionally.
8:31And we have got to stand up against this infringement on the rights and the
8:37independence of our state that is being perpetuated and perpetrated by the federal government.
8:42So these are things, honestly, I never thought I would see in my lifetime.
8:46I also never thought I'd see in my lifetime mass federal agents in our neighboring
8:51state kill two people. And so, you know, these are really concerning times.
8:58We have to have strong courts.
9:00They are the courts are our last line of defense against some of these really
9:05alarming, unconstitutional actions and activities we're seeing.
9:10Tell us a little bit about your background, Judge, because, you know, first off, whenever
9:13I do these interviews about Supreme Court races and Supreme Court, you know, these seats,
9:19and I teach over at USC Law and I describe, you know, the process.
9:24Lots of people are even surprised that there are elections, you know, and so for
9:29Supreme Court seats, that very concept, you know, sometimes is a little bit foreign.
9:34Oh, you run for the office.
9:36And so, oh, yeah, a lot of times you run for the office.
9:39There are different rules in federal versus state.
9:41But talk to us about your background and what led you to run for this,
9:45you know, critical position. Sure.
9:47Well, I mean, three things have really motivated me throughout my entire life.
9:51I care deeply about people.
9:52I believe people need to be at the center of their government, not relegated to
9:56the periphery. I am passionate about standing up against injustice.
10:01And, you know, as a little kid, I felt this way.
10:04I didn't like seeing people treated unfairly or bullied.
10:07And then third, I learned from my own family's experience that the law can be
10:11a powerful tool to lift people up and improve their lives.
10:15My grandmother was a single mother to my mother for most of my mother's childhood.
10:20And my grandmother struggled to make ends meet until she got a union job and
10:24she was able to be fairly compensated.
10:26She was able to support three kids and help my mom go to college.
10:29My mom became a public school teacher.
10:31So I saw from an early age that the law can be a powerful tool
10:36to improve people's lives, to strengthen community.
10:39And I graduated from UW -Madison Law School over 30 years ago.
10:43I have a really unique, diverse background.
10:46I've been in private practice representing just normal people who had legal issues.
10:51I was the Law and Policy Director for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, where I worked
10:55to protect women's ability to access reproductive health care and make their own decisions.
11:00I was a legislator. Nobody has that experience on the court.
11:04So I was a legislator for nine years.
11:07I dealt with all kinds of issues.
11:09I understand the different roles of the government.
11:12I understand the legislative process, which is really helpful for a judge.
11:18And then for the last six years, I've been a judge both on the circuit
11:21court level, that's the trial court, and on the court of appeals.
11:24I have looked at the law from every different angle.
11:28And the through line in my career is a deep commitment to making sure people
11:33are protected, their rights are protected.
11:36And a deep commitment to making sure that everybody gets equal justice under the law.
11:41That's not just reserved for the most powerful and the most privileged and the biggest
11:45corporation. That is for everybody.
11:48And I am running to be a justice for the people of the state of
11:51Wisconsin. When you travel around Wisconsin right now as part of this election, just a
11:56reminder for everybody, it's coming up.
11:58It's April 7th. It's right around the corner.
12:00I mean, it's right here.
12:02Early voting is now, though, right?
12:04I mean, you can vote now.
12:05What are you hearing from people?
12:09What's the common thing that you hear as you're traveling?
12:13The most common thing that I hear as I travel all around, and I'm in
12:17very northern Wisconsin right now in Hudson, is people are so hungry for a government
12:24that works for them. They are feeling the squeeze.
12:27Prices are high. Gas prices are high.
12:30We're in seemingly another war.
12:33People have been really impacted, our small businesses, by tariffs.
12:37That has caused a lot of chaos.
12:39And so I think people are really feeling that government is not working for them,
12:45that government is really doing great for the billionaires, but not for working people.
12:50And my message to them is, look, we can make a big difference in the
12:55courts. We can elect justices who are committed to protecting your rights, to prioritizing you,
13:02and not the most powerful and the most privileged.
13:05And so I have great hope.
13:06I have seen amazing things throughout the state of Wisconsin.
13:10People are organizing here. They are taking action to protect our democracy and our elections
13:15from the tiniest little town.
13:16I was in a very rural county, Wapaka County, not too long ago.
13:22And there's groups, they're organizing.
13:25Their group was just do something.
13:27And they are organizing to protect our democracy.
13:30So I've been totally inspired by the people of Wisconsin.
13:34I think we're going to have a really healthy turnout on April 7th.
13:37And you can't really vote now.
13:39So that's a really great thing.
13:40But people want government to have their backs.
13:44They want a court that cares about them and their rights.
13:47And that's why I'm running.
13:49That's the kind of justice that I will be.
13:52Where can people learn more about you, about the campaign, if they want to help?
13:59Where can they go to that?
14:00And anything you want to say to our 7 million subscribers that we haven't hit
14:05before we go? Sure. Well, people can go to www .chrisforjustice .com.
14:13That's C -H -R -I -S -F -O -R -justice .com.
14:17And, you know, the last message that I guess I want to leave people with
14:22is it's hard to see opportunities sometime when you're reading the paper every day and
14:28listening to the news. You don't know where to start.
14:30But we have an opportunity here in Wisconsin to stand up, to stand up for
14:35people, to stand up for our rights, to stand up for our elections, our democracy,
14:39to say to the federal government, you're not going to invade our independence as a
14:44state. And that's exciting. So I want people to see the potential and the hope.
14:50We have to keep working to create the state and the nation that we want
14:55and that our kids deserve.
14:57And that's what we can do in this race.
14:59And so I'm excited about it.
15:01We have a great opportunity here.
15:03And I think the people of the state of Wisconsin are going to turn out
15:07big, and they are going to vote for justice.
15:10They are going to vote for democracy.
15:12And I hope that that is recognized by the whole country.
15:19Judge Chris Taylor, running for Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice, great to meet you.
15:25Great to hear about your incredible background as well at all levels of government policy,
15:32Planned Parenthood, truly the type of person we'd want in a position like this, who's
15:38lived a life of being with the people.
15:40So thanks for joining us.
15:42Thanks so much for having me.
15:43It was really, really fun.
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