A costly campaign by abortion-rights advocates for state supreme court seats yielded mixed results in Tuesday's election. Republicans expanded their majority on Ohio's court, while candidates backed by progressive groups won in Montana and Michigan. The North Carolina supreme court race, heavily focused on abortion rights, remained too close to call on Thursday.
Groups on both sides spent millions in hopes of influencing courts that will be pivotal in deciding issues such as voting rights, redistricting, and abortion. Abortion-rights supporters celebrated victories in states won by Donald Trump, signaling the importance of reproductive rights in judicial campaigns post the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 decision on Roe v. Wade.
The ACLU, Planned Parenthood, and other organizations collectively spent millions on court races in several states. Conservative groups also invested heavily, with a focus on issues like immigration and crime.
In Ohio, all three Democratic candidates for the state Supreme Court lost, giving Republicans a 6-1 majority. Michigan Democrats secured two seats, expanding their majority to 5-2. In North Carolina, a closely contested race saw Justice Allison Riggs campaigning on reproductive rights against Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin.
In Montana, progressive groups supported candidates who won key seats, emphasizing the protection of abortion rights in a state controlled by Republicans. Efforts to unseat three justices on Texas' all-Republican Supreme Court failed. In Arizona, justices won retention elections despite challenges over abortion-related decisions.
Conservatives also prevailed in Oklahoma, where voters removed a Supreme Court justice. An Arkansas justice who supported abortion rights was elected chief justice. Wisconsin's upcoming court race will determine if liberals maintain their majority.
State supreme court elections are evolving, with significant spending and high stakes shaping the outcomes. The battleground for key issues like reproductive rights, voting rights, and democracy continues to intensify in judicial campaigns across the country.
