Karofsky goes after Kelly in first court debate

MADISON, Wis. — State Supreme Court challenger Jill Karofsky is trying to put incumbent Justice Dan Kelly on the defensive as their first debate gets under way.

Karofsky and Ed Fallone are looking to unseat Kelly in the spring elections. The three of them will face off in a February primary, with the top two vote-getters advancing to the April general election. The three met for their first debate Monday.

Karofsky immediately attacked Kelly, accusing him of constantly siding with conservative groups and ruling in their favor.

Kelly fired back that Karofsky sees everything through a political lens and he decides every case as the law applies to it.

A clearly annoyed Fallone was given little opportunity to speak. At one point he quipped that he felt like a badminton net between Kelly and Karofsky.

Then-Gov. Scott Walker appointed Kelly to the court in 2016 to replace retiring Justice David Prosser. Karofsky is a Dane County judge. Fallone is a Marquette University law professor.

Supreme Court races are officially nonpartisan but Democrats support Karofsky and Fallone and Republicans are rallying behind Kelly. His performance could serve as a harbinger of Republicans’ chances statewide in November 2020.

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