Brian Leur on WNYC. As we head toward the 2024 election year, it might not be too much

of a stretch to say, as goes Wisconsin, so goes the nation. And the battle for this midwest

swing state is already going on. In April, Wisconsin voters elected Judge Janet Proto-Sewitz,

a Democrat, to the State Supreme Court and defenders of democracy breathed the sigh of relief.

Proto-Sewitz's Republican opponent in that race, Daniel Kelly, was reported to have advised

the State GOP on the fake electors scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Voters chose Judge Proto-Sewitz, and she won in a landslide that tipped the ideological balance

of the court and signaled a possible end to the extreme gerrymandering that has given Republicans

near complete control of the State House. Justice Proto-Sewitz's term began August 1st,

but barely six weeks in, before she's even heard a case, Republicans in the State have threatened

to impeach her. This has local but also national implications. So we will zoom into Wisconsin now

with Dan Kaufman, journalist and author of the book, The Fall of Wisconsin,

the conservative conquest of a progressive bastion in the future of American politics.

That was published in 2018. His recent story in the New Yorker is headlined the Wisconsin GOP's

Looming Judicial Attack. Dan, thanks for coming on for this. Welcome back to WNIC.

Thanks for having me, Brian. It's always a pleasure. Thank you.

Let me invite some listeners in right away. Is there anybody tuning in now in Wisconsin or

originally from Wisconsin? How do you see all this playing out in your backyard? Help us report

this story and why should the rest of the country be paying attention? Or any questions for Dan

Kaufman 212-433-WNYC? Maybe you saw his New Yorker article 212-433-9692 or text to that number

or tweet at Brian Lehrer. So by way of background, tell us a little bit more about Justice

Proto-Saywitz and how she became a member of the Wisconsin Supreme Court and why that matters.

...