Patrick Marley and Bruce Vielmetti

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

MADISON - Two appeals court judges will face each other in April for a seat on the state Supreme Court.

Brian Hagedorn and Lisa Neubauer — both members of the Waukesha-based District 2 Court of Appeals — have filed paperwork to get on the ballot to replace retiring liberal Justice Shirley Abrahamson.

Neubauer filed her paperwork in December and Hagedorn did so Wednesday, the deadline for getting on the April 2 ballot. Candidates have until 5 p.m. to get on the ballot, but no others are expected to do so.

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Hagedorn is a former chief legal adviser to outgoing Gov. Scott Walker and was appointed to the appeals court by Walker in 2015.

Neubauer has won the backing of Democrats and 150 judges and has hired the same team that helped elect liberal Rebecca Dallet to the Supreme Court in 2018.

Conservatives have a 4-3 majority on the court. The April election could keep that balance in place or widen conservative control to 5-2.

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Meanwhile, a rare highly contested circuit court race is shaping up in Ozaukee County. Four lawyers, three from Cedarburg and one from Mequon, will compete to replace Judge Joseph Voiland, who announced Dec. 26 that he would not seek a second term.

The candidates are Mark Larson, Angela Foy, Steven Cain and James Wawrzyn.

A Feb. 19 primary will determine which two candidates advance to the April 2 general election.

Voiland upset longtime incumbent Thomas Wolfgram in 2013 after emphasizing that Wolfgram had signed a petition supporting a recall election of Walker, but he developed severely strained relations with other courthouse officials in Port Washington. Voiland supports Cain in the election.

Voiland did not submit paperwork with the state declaring his intentions for this spring, so the filing deadline in his race has been extended until Monday.

In Milwaukee County, recently appointed Circuit Judge Andrew Jones will face a challenge from assistant public defender Danielle Shelton.

Shelton declared her candidacy soon after Dallet was elected to the state Supreme Court. Walker appointed Jones to fill Dallet's seat in September.

Journal Sentinel reporter Bruce Vielmetti contributed to this report.