Her campaign was supported by leftists, and the Wisconsin Democratic Party contributed over $8 million to her campaign, as reported by the Associated Press. Further, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin endorsed her for the state Supreme Court position, and she had the backing of former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. According to NBC News, her win will shift the court's current 4-3 conservative-leaning majority to a liberal-leaning majority.
Her opponent in the contest, former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Dan Kelly, had been supported by pro-life groups. He was appointed by former Gov. Scott Walker (R) to serve on the state Supreme Court in 2016 but lost an election in 2020. JusticeDanielKelly.com describes him as a "judicial conservative who will apply the law as it is written, rather than legislate from the bench.
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After her win, Protasiewicz stated, "It was really about saving our democracy, getting away from extremism, and having a fair and impartial court where everybody gets a fair shot in the courtroom," according to the AP. However, Kelly criticized Protasiewicz, stating that he wished he could "concede to a worthy opponent," but there was no such opponent to whom he could concede. He described her campaign as the "most deeply, deceitful, dishonorable, despicable campaign" he has "ever seen run for the courts. It was truly beneath contempt." He further claimed that she had "disregarded judicial ethics" and "demeaned the judiciary with her behavior," accusing her of being a "serial liar."
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