Milwaukee County judge running for Wisconsin Supreme Court

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Janet Protasiewicz says that she will run for the Wisconsin Supreme Court next year to fill a seat currently held by the conservative former chief justice. The April election will determine the ideological balance of the court.

Retiring Justice Patience Roggensack, who turns 82 in July, is not seeking a third 10-year term. She is part of the four-justice conservative majority on the seven-member court.

Protasiewicz said in a statement Wednesday launching her candidacy that “radical right-wing extremists” are attacking “our most closely-held constitutional rights.”

Numerous others are mulling whether to run, including former conservative Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Dan Kelly.