This post originally appeared at https://wifamilycouncil.org/radio/elections-can-move-us-toward-righteousness/
2025 | Week of January 20 | Radio Transcript #1602
The end of the Biden Administration has arrived. The United States has a new President and Vice President as Donald Trump and JD Vance were sworn in Monday morning.
As we pray for wisdom for incoming policymakers, both in D.C. and here in Madison, we also give God thanks for His mercy and faithfulness and remain committed to making our corner of America—the great state of Wisconsin—a more righteous place, because we believe what Solomon said in Proverbs: “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.”
The opportunities ahead of us also remind me of the oft-quoted 2 Chronicles 7:14: “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” While given specifically to the children of Israel at a certain time and place, the principle applies to all people, at all times, in all places.
And it certainly applies as we in Wisconsin face yet another critical election—an election that is already receiving national attention.
You’ve likely just started seeing the ads already for the upcoming State Supreme Court race. Judge Susan Crawford, a liberal judge in Dane County, is running against Brad Schimel, a conservative judge and former Wisconsin Attorney General from Waukesha County. This race will determine whether conservatives or liberals will have control over our state’s highest court.
The last Supreme Court election in our state in the spring of 2023 broke records with $51 million spent to determine the balance of power—which flipped from conservative to liberal.
Our Spring Nonpartisan Election is technically on Tuesday, April 1, but with absentee ballots becoming available in early March and early in-person voting beginning in mid-March, it’s not too early for Wisconsin voters to understand what exactly this election may determine—in other words, recognizing some of the inevitable consequences of this election.
The State Supreme Court has an incredible amount of power. Over the next few years, our high court is likely to make decisions on important issues such as life, religious liberty, parental rights, school choice, and much more. They’ll weigh in on efforts to maintain integrity in our elections and consider cases that pertain to freedom of speech. This is not a time to sit on the sidelines.
Presently, liberals control the Wisconsin Supreme Court four to three. But because liberal Justice Ann Walsh Bradley is retiring, this means the liberals are defending their majority. If the conservative candidate wins, conservatives will reclaim the majority they lost in 2023 and move the state’s interpretation of law back to the right.
With a new Administration in D.C., it’s pretty safe to assume that a liberal Wisconsin Supreme Court could view themselves as a roadblock to the conservative agenda coming from D.C.
The State Supreme Court race is not the only item on the statewide ballot this spring. Just this last week, the legislature approved a measure that will allow “we the people” to vote on whether voter ID should be required to vote in our state. Presently, state law requires it; but if the ballot measure passes in April, it will be added to our state constitution, which would be much harder for the court to remove.
Our ballots will also include candidates for the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, a race that right now calls for a primary on Tuesday, February 18, in order to reduce the field to just two candidates.
As always in our spring elections, local races abound, with mayors, alderpersons, town or village supervisors, school board members, judges, and more. Some may have a primary election on February 18. We urge all voters to visit myvote.wi.gov as the February primary approaches or to check with their county clerk to learn what’s on their ballot so that they are informed and ready to vote knowledgeably, biblically, and prayerfully and can urge their friends and family to join them.
April elections have a much lower turnout than those held in November, which makes it all the more important that Christians make plans to vote in this election if we truly believe that righteousness exalts a nation or a state. These elections give us great opportunities to bring about consequences that at least move us towards righteousness.
For Wisconsin Family Council, this is Julaine Appling, reminding you that God, through the Prophet Hosea, said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”
Sierra John