The 16 judges of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals are elected in nonpartisan elections. They serve six-year terms. All judges must run for re-election if they wish to continue serving after their term expires. In the event of a midterm vacancy, the governor appoints a replacement. If the vacancy occurs after that year's spring election and on or before December 1 of the same year, the appointee must stand for election in the next succeeding spring election in which no other judge from the same district is to be elected. If the vacancy occurs after December 1 but before the following spring's election, the appointee must stand for election in the next spring election—beginning with the second spring election from the time of the appointment—in which no other judge from the same district is to be elected. The governor solicits recommendations from an Advisory Council on Judicial Selection in making his or her appointments, but is not required to choose one of the suggested appointees.
On June 19, 2015, Kloppenburg announced plans to seek election to the Wisconsin Supreme Court in the 2016 election. Kloppenburg's announcement was followed by announcements from Joe Donald, Rebecca Bradley and Claude Covelli, who dropped out on December 22, 2015.
Kloppenburg ran for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court in the Spring 2011 election, held on April 5, 2011. Her opponent was incumbent David Prosser. In the primary election, Kloppenburg won 25.2 percent of the vote, coming in second out of four candidates. On April 6, 2011, Kloppenburg declared victory. On May 20, 2011, following a recount, it was concluded that Prosser defeated Kloppenburg by 7,006 votes.
In contrast, the candidate who Donald and Kloppenburg are campaigning against, interim Justice Rebecca Bradley, might be one of the most unethical jurists ever to sit on the state Supreme Court. Bradley’s very brief, undistinguished judicial career is almost totally the result of her benefactor, Gov.
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