Hey, I'm Kelly McEvers, and this is Embedded from NPR.

And I want to start today in the state of Wisconsin.

With a story you don't expect to hear these days in the political hellscape that is

2019, it's about an election that actually had the explicit goal of keeping politics

out of it.

Supreme Court contests are, of course, famously nonpartisan affairs.

Both candidates have told me there's no room for political ideology or partisan politics

on the court.

The two candidates were both appeals court judges in the state who were running for an

open seat on the Wisconsin State Supreme Court.

The races are officially nonpartisan.

Molly Beck cover state politics for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

So when you're in the ballot box, so to speak, there's no D or R next to the candidate's

names.

No party affiliations.

Of course, Beck says there's usually one candidate who's supported by democratic groups

like unions or civil liberties organizations.

And one candidate who's supported by conservative groups like the Chamber of Commerce.

In this race, back in April, Lisa Newbauer was considered a liberal judge, Brian Hegadorne,

the conservative.

And conventional wisdom held that Newbauer, who was raising a lot more money than Hegadorne,

was the favorite.

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