CASE STUDY
Dallet for Justice
MISSION
Electing the first progressive WI Supreme Court Justice in a quarter-century
Challenge
Judge Rebecca Dallet, with extensive experience in the Wisconsin judicial system, entered the state Supreme Court race as a candidate with a unique profile. Her background as a prosecutor and municipal judge provided her an edge over opponents. However, she encountered hurdles in the primary and general elections due to low voter education on the race and limited statewide recognition, leading to a significant number of undecided voters.
Approach
50+1 Strategies joined the campaign just after Dallet’s official launch with our Vice President of Campaigns Jessica Lovejoy serving as campaign manager. We framed Dallet as an experienced judge with a track record of delivering justice for victims, which helped set up a strong contrast with her opponents. Our polling told us our best targets were independents and less ideological Democrats, blue-collar workers and younger women, and voters in smaller markets in the northern parts of the state, but also that we couldn’t afford to take our foot off the gas in her homebase of Milwaukee.
Results
The campaign raised more than $1 million from 5,000+ individual contributors, executed 40+ events across the state, and sent 143k pieces of persuasion mail to targeted households with women with low turnout scores. We also designed and executed an aggressive statewide SMS program for low-turnout voters and sent nearly 100k texts pushing people to the polls and encouraging them to vote for Judge Dallet. The Dallet campaign delivered progressives the first victory in an open-seat Wisconsin Supreme Court race in a quarter-century. Today, progressives hold a narrow majority on the court, which will help guarantee fair political maps and successfully restore reproductive rights and abortion access in the state.
