Obama attorney general endorses candidate in Wisconsin Supreme Court race

Holder is among the first major national leaders to campaign for Crawford.

March 14, 2025, 10:42 PM

Eric Holder, who served as attorney general of the United States under President Barack Obama, will be campaigning in support of Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Susan Crawford, according to the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, which Holder chairs.

Holder is among the first major national leaders to campaign in support of Crawford.

Eric Holder attends Lambda Legal Hosts 2024 National Liberty Awards, May 30, 2024, in New York.
Arturo Holmes/Getty Images

"The fight for our democracy is unfolding at the ballot box in Wisconsin. This race is a choice between a court majority that is fair, balanced, and pro-democracy, and one that is anti-democracy, acting as another arm of an extreme right-wing agenda," Holder said in a statement to ABC News.

"Judge Susan Crawford is the commonsense candidate Wisconsinites want and deserve on their state’s highest court -- somone who will follow the facts and the law as she evaluates the cases before her," he added.

While the race is technically nonpartisan, Crawford is running with the support of Democrats, while her opponent, Brad Schimel, has the support of Republicans.

Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates Brad Schimel and Susan Crawford participate in a debate, March 12, 2025, in Milwaukee.
Morry Gash/AP

Redistricting, or the redrawing of congressional and legislative district maps based on population data, is one of the issues that has come up in the closely watched race because the court has previously dealt with redistricting cases.

In 2024, the court ruled in favor of keeping Wisconsin's current congressional district map in place after previously rejecting legislative district maps.

Holder will be campaigning in support of Crawford on Monday in Madison, Wisconsin, and on Tuesday in Milwaukee.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court election is on April 1, and the contest for the seat of retiring Justice Ann Walsh Bradley is technically a nonpartisan race, though whoever wins the seat will help determine the ideological bent of the court -- which currently leans liberal.

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