MADISON, Wis. -- Conservative Brian Hagedorn's strong showing in Wisconsin's Supreme Court race cheered state Republicans on Wednesday, with their first positive result in a statewide election since 2016 suggesting reasons for optimism next year in a critical presidential battleground.
Hagedorn led liberal-backed Lisa Neubauer by 5,962 votes -- less than half a percentage point -- in a race that could still go to a recount. But the results come after a string of losses by Republicans in special and statewide elections since President Donald Trump carried the state in 2016.
While Republicans were excited, they were also cautious about what Hagedorn's showing means for Trump's re-election.
"Nobody should assume because Republicans won this race that they will continue to win everything else," Republican strategist and former state GOP leader Brandon Scholz said.
Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, who has been leading GOP efforts to rebound after the 2018 elections, credited Hagedorn's showing with a ground-up engagement with conservatives who were angry about attacks in the race and about national Democratic priorities.
"This is the recipe for success," he said. "That's what I've been preaching since the day after the November 2018 election. We have to energize, rely on the grass-roots."
Republicans compared political attacks on Hagedorn to those on U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. National political fights, including those over the release of a report from Robert Mueller's investigation into Trump and over ongoing court battles regarding a lame-duck legislative session in Wisconsin, also fueled interest in the race, GOP strategists said.
Hagedorn said attacks against him over long-ago blog writings, including calling Planned Parenthood a "wicked organization" and denouncing court rulings that favored gay rights, motivated his supporters.
Democrats took the result as a sign that despite a string of wins, including ousting Gov. Scott Walker in November, nothing can be taken for granted.
"Not that Democrats needed it, but it's another wake-up call that every single election here is going to be highly competitive," said Democratic strategist Joe Zepecki. "This is not a red state. This is not a blue state. This is the deepest shade of purple there is on the spectrum."
Neubauer didn't immediately say whether she would request a recount, which would be unlikely to overturn the results and which would come at her expense. She immediately appealed to supporters for money in case she pursues the recount. Counties have until April 12 to report final vote totals, and Neubauer has three days after that to request a recount.
Information for this article was contributed by Ivan Moreno of The Associated Press.
A Section on 04/04/2019