Conservative WI Supreme Court Justice Annette Ziegler Will Retire
Will finish her term but won't be on 2027 ballot, setting up open race for high court.
Conservative Chief Justice Annette Ziegler has tried to put the brakes on the Supreme Court liberal majority’s new administrative rules, which have blocked her authority. She is seen in the Wisconsin Supreme Court Hearing Room in Madison, Wis., on Dec. 1, 2022. Coburn Dukehart/Wisconsin Watch
Justice Annette Ziegler, a conservative who has sat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court since 2007 and served four years as chief justice, will not seek reelection to the court next year.
In an announcement Monday morning, Ziegler said she will serve out the remainder of her term but not appear on the April 2027 ballot, setting up what will be an open race.
Ziegler is the second conservative justice to say she will step down in the last year, since liberals clinched a majority on the court for the next several years. Last year, Justice Rebecca Bradley, an outspoken conservative firebrand, said she would not seek reelection, sparking a surprise open race for her seat this spring.
In Bradley’s announcement, she pointed to changing ideological winds on the court, and framed her decision as an effort to serve the conservative movement elsewhere. Ziegler framed her own decision in less partisan terms.
“I am incredibly proud that in all my elections I had support from a broad spectrum of legal, civic, law enforcement and political leaders — both Democrats and Republicans — who believed in my commitment to fairness, ethics and the rule of law,” Ziegler said in a written statement. “I am also grateful to my colleagues on the Supreme Court, both past and present, for their faith in me by choosing me to serve as chief justice for two terms.”
Ziegler served as chief justice from 2021 to 2025.
From left, Wisconsin Supreme Court Justices Janet Protasiewicz, Annette Ziegler, Rebecca Dallet and Brian Hagedorn attend Susan Crawford’s investiture Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wis. Angela Major/WPR
But her tenure was not without its disputes with what recently became a liberal majority on the court. In 2023, after Justice Janet Protasiewicz took the bench, flipping the court’s ideological stance for the first time in 15 years, Ziegler accused her liberal colleagues of going “rogue” and undermining her authority as chief.
Ziegler was first elected to the court in 2007, defeating Madison attorney Linda Clifford in what was seen at the time as one of the first big money races for the court. She was reelected in 2017 after an uncontested race. In recent years, the idea of a noncompetitive Wisconsin Supreme Court race has become almost absurd, as the last two high court races shattered national records for spending and framed by both liberals and conservatives as existential for their respective movements.
But this spring’s race, pitting Dane County Appeals Court Judge Chris Taylor against Waukesha County Appeals Court Judge Maria Lazar, has received less attention so far, likely because the court’s ideological balance is not on the line. Liberals already have a 4-3 advantage, and if Taylor wins next month, that majority would be 5-2.
Either outcome would mean the 2027 race for Ziegler’s open seat would be run under similar circumstances, with conservatives on defense and liberals hoping to grow their majority.
Ziegler holds a law degree from Marquette University, and served as a private attorney, assistant U.S. attorney and Washington County Circuit Court judge before she was elected to the Supreme Court.
Her current term runs until August 2027.
Conservative Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Annette Ziegler to retire was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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Ziegler is a much less abrasive personality than Rebecca Bradley but I covered her first election to the bench and there were many rich vs poor money games in that race!