State supreme court elections are often an afterthought for party committees and other political players who, in a campaign’s heated final weeks, must decide how best to deploy limited amounts of money. That’s likely to change in the run-up to November’s midterm elections.
The judicial races will likely take on new prominence this election cycle after a Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that struck down the high court’s nearly 50-year-old ruling in Roe v. Wade sent the legality of abortion back to the states to legislate.
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These down-ballot races often garner little attention in election cycles dwarfed by House, Senate, or gubernatorial races. But state supreme courts can hold broad sway on policy matters, especially as states navigate changes to abortion law and policy to either expand access to or restrict the practice after Dobbs.
According to the University of Virginia Center for Politics, about two-thirds of the states will have some type of state supreme court election on their ballots in November. Eight states appear most likely to have competitive races for their supreme courts: Arkansas, Kentucky, Illinois, Montana, Michigan, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Ohio.
“Time to elevate the oft-ignored elections for state courts,” Larry Sabato, director of the UVA Center for Politics, recently wrote. “These positions matter more than ever.”
Time to elevate the oft-ignored elections for state courts. These positions matter more than ever. @loujacobson does a superb analysis here for the Crystal Ball. https://t.co/BSOccGYMHJ
— Larry Sabato (@LarrySabato) July 7, 2022
States use a wide variety of methods to fill their state supreme courts: Some have partisan elections in which candidates run with a political party affiliation, while others have nonpartisan elections in which potential justices run without the label of a political party. Others are appointed by governors, a committee overseen by a governor or the state bar association, or elected by state legislatures. Still in others, a judge is originally appointed and then goes on to face “retention” elections in which voters select whether or not they should remain in office.
In Michigan, for example, the state Supreme Court currently has a slight Democratic lean, but that could change in November in what is likely to be a competitive contest.
A pre-Roe 1931 statutory ban on abortion remains the subject of litigation, in which abortion supporters are attempting to block enforcement of the law now in the absence of Roe. Abortion rights activists are also seeking to place an amendment to the Michigan Constitution protecting the procedure on the ballot in November, which, if approved, would be reviewed by the court.
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Democrats disappointed by the outcome in Dobbs are urging a new focus on down-ballot races, especially because congressional action on abortion, either to restrict or expand access, appears unlikely for the foreseeable future.
If we’re serious about protecting our rights in a post-Roe America, Democrats need to be serious about investing in down-ballot candidates and year-round organizing. This is spot-on analysis from @arenasummit’s @laurenbaer. https://t.co/vaGB2XWSHL
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) July 7, 2022
Former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton wrote on Twitter this week, “If we’re serious about protecting our rights in a post-Roe America, Democrats need to be serious about investing in down-ballot candidates and year-round organizing.”
