Democrats romp in Wisconsin Supreme Court race, narrow margins in Georgia

Democrats romped to a 20 percentage point victory in a race for a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat, while Republicans won a special election for a House seat in Georgia by a far less comfortable margin than in 2024.The elections Tuesday underscore strong headwinds for President Donald Trump and his Republicans ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, which could shift the balance of power in Washington and loosen Trump's grip on power. Democratic-backed Appeals Court Judge Chris Taylor won a 10-year term on Wisconsin's Supreme Court, defeating conservative Appeals Court Judge Maria Lazar by roughly 20 percentage points, according to the Associated Press tally. The race was far more subdued than last year's Supreme Court contest in Wisconsin, which turned into the most expensive state supreme court race in history after Tesla owner Elon Musk injected huge sums of money to support the Republican-backed conservative candidate, who lost.Taylor's 20-point margin of victory is nearly double that of Justice Susan Crawford in 2025, who defeated Musk-backed Brad Schimel by about 10 percentage points. The win cements a 5-2 majority for liberals on the Wisconsin high court. Meanwhile in Georgia, Republican Clayton Fuller defeated Democrat Shawn Harris by a roughly 12 percentage point margin in a special election runoff for a House of Representatives seat vacated by former GOP Rep.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, according to the Associated Press tally. The win for the Trump-backed Fuller will pad the narrow Republican majority in the House, which sits at 217 Republicans to 214 Democrats — an effective one-vote margin on any party-line vote for Speaker Mike Johnson. The win may offer little solace for Republicans, however, as Democrats overperformed in the contest. Greene carried the district by 29 percentage points in 2024, more than double Fuller's margin of victory. The result could be a good sign for Democrats, who are hoping to retain Sen. Jon Ossoff's Senate seat in the Peach State to have any chance at gaining a majority in the Senate. Got a confidential news tip? We want to hear from you.Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inboxGet this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services.© 2026 Versant Media, LLC.

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