A September column from WMC spokesman Jim Pugh referred to Bradley as a "judicial traditionalist" while calling both Kloppenburg and Donald "liberal" judges. The column resurrected the group's 2011 attacks on Kloppenburg, quoting her as saying, "I never said I was tough on crime."

"It’s somewhat hard to predict," Bradley said when asked whether she expects criminal themes to emerge in the race, "because there are a number of different people and groups that participate in communicating about that race. Sometimes people have different areas that they want to talk about or emphasize, so we’ll have to wait and see whether the criminal side of the work that we do emerges as a significant issue."

The liberal group One Wisconsin Now said Bradley is exactly the kind of candidate conservative money has attacked in past races for lacking crime-fighting experience.

The group cited her 2013 application for the Milwaukee County Circuit Court, in which she classified her legal experience as 95 percent in civil practice and 5 percent in family issues, with none in criminal law.