State Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley (left), Circuit Court Judge Joe Donald (center) and Appeals Court Judge JoAnne Kloppenburg faced off Tuesday in the primary for the state high court. Bradley and Kloppenburg advanced out of Tuesday’s primary. Credit: Journal Sentinel files

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Madison — State Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley and Appeals Judge JoAnne Kloppenburg advanced in Tuesday's primary and will square off in the April 5 election for a 10-year term on the high court.

With 98% of the vote counted, Bradley had 45% to Kloppenburg's 43%, with Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Joe Donald finishing third. Donald conceded an hour after the polls closed.

The race pits two ideologically contrasting candidates who in the next two months will make the case that, if elected, they will act independently and steer clear of partisanship on the bench.

Republican Gov. Scott Walker appointed Rebecca Bradley to the Supreme Court in October to finish the term of Justice N. Patrick Crooks, who died in September. Walker had previously appointed Bradley to the Milwaukee County Circuit Court in 2012 and the District 1 Court of Appeals in May 2015.

Bradley said in an interview that she will use her same strategy through the rest of the race.

"I am going to focus on my experience and qualifications and my judicial philosophy of saying what the law is and not what I may wish it to be."

"I am very committed to that and I think that message is resonating across the political spectrum," she said.

In an interview, Kloppenburg predicted Donald's votes will go to her, and she made it clear she'll link Bradley to Walker.

"Rebecca Bradley — appointed three times to three judgeships in three years by Governor Walker — she has a long partisan background and a partisan approach to the law," Kloppenburg said.

During the campaign, Bradley has won backing from conservatives, while liberals have been split between Donald and Kloppenburg. All three have argued they are independent and can appeal to the entire political spectrum.

Both of Bradley's opponents used her ties to Walker against her, arguing she would follow his agenda. With Walker's approval rating below 40% in recent polling by Marquette University Law School, Bradley's links to Walker are likely to continue to be raised.

Bradley has said she was pleased to have the appointments but wouldn't say if she thought Walker had done a good job as governor, saying her role is to interpret the law.

Before she was appointed to the bench, Bradley was in-house counsel for software company RedPrairie Corp. and worked at the law firms Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek and Hinshaw & Culbertson.

This is Kloppenburg's second run for state Supreme Court. She lost to Justice David Prosser in 2011 in an election that saw the first statewide recount in more than 20 years. The election came just weeks after Republicans in the Legislature approved Act 10, the law limiting collective bargaining for public workers, and it became a proxy fight over that measure.

Kloppenburg was a longtime assistant attorney general at the time. She went on to win a seat in 2012 on the District 4 Court of Appeals based in Madison.

Donald was appointed to the Milwaukee County bench in 1996 by GOP Gov. Tommy Thompson. He has won election four times without opposition, and this was his first bid for statewide office.

During this campaign, Bradley has come under fire from her opponents for support she is getting from the state Republican Party and a group called the Wisconsin Alliance for Reform that spent about $1 million on a TV spot promoting her.

That ad used footage that Bradley's campaign shot and posted online, prompting Bradley's opponents to question whether she had worked directly with the group. Bradley said she had not.

Bradley has not attacked her opponents and said she is committed to running a positive campaign.

In a statement, Donald said: "The influence of partisan politics and special interest money has a terrible impact on the Wisconsin Supreme Court and our entire judicial system, and I will continue to fight every day as a Circuit Court Judge in Milwaukee and a community leader to reduce the influence of politics and deliver justice fairly."

While out of the race, Donald said citizens and politicians must "seriously address the issue of mass incarceration."

"Our criminal justice system is not working for all citizens — especially people of color — and it is tearing too many families apart at great expense to taxpayers all across Wisconsin."

Donald said he wouldn't make an immediate endorsement of either Bradley or Kloppenburg.

In the race, Kloppenburg criticized Donald for supporting Bradley in the past, arguing it showed voters couldn't know where he stood.

Donald endorsed Bradley when she ran for a full term on the Milwaukee County court and swore her in after she won that election. He also agreed to be a reference on her application for the appeals court appointment but wrote a letter of support for another candidate.

Patrick Marley reported for this story in Madison with Lee Bergquist in Milwaukee

Full election returns

To see full election results from Tuesday's primary, go to jsonline.com

Supreme Court

(98% of units reporting)

✔Rebecca Bradley (inc.) — 245,293

✔JoAnne Kloppenburg — 236,116

Joe Donald — 65,100