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A majority of area lawyers who responded to an annual Milwaukee Bar Association survey feel Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley is unqualified for her job.

Bradley received 138 "not qualified" votes to 120 "qualified" and 27 "no opinion" votes.

Her challenger, Court of Appeals Judge JoAnne Kloppenburg, scored 203 qualified, 48 unqualified and 37 no opinions.

Kloppenburg brought up the poll results at a Madison candidates' forum Wednesday. Bradley responded, "We can all breathe a sigh of relief that 120-some partisan lawyers in Milwaukee County will not decide this election."

The MBA surveys its members before every judicial election. It's not unprecedented for an incumbent judge to get more unqualified than qualified votes, but it may be a first for a sitting justice. Bradley, who is from Milwaukee, was appointed to the high court in October.

In 2009, Jefferson County Circuit Judge Randy Koschnick, then challenging Supreme Court Justice Shirley Abrahamson, garnered 146 unqualifieds, to 115 qualifieds, and 210 no opinions.

In 2008, MBA voters gave Supreme Court challenger Michael Gableman, a Burnett County circuit judge, 198 unqualifieds, 119 qualifieds and 195 no opinions. He went on to beat incumbent Louis Butler.

The survey is far from scientific. It goes out to about 2,000 MBA members, but fewer than 20% usually respond, and even those who respond do not always give opinions on all the candidates.

Some of Bradley's support in the Milwaukee legal community may have suffered from revelations about her college writings about homosexuality, AIDS and abortion, which made news about the time the poll went out, on March 7.

Circuit Judge Dennis Cimpl, who spoke glowingly about Bradley at her investiture as a Court of Appeals judge in June, has disappeared from her endorsements list. He declined to comment on whether or why he had withdrawn his endorsement of her high court campaign.

Two contested circuit judge races were also part of the survey.

In Branch 31, Hannah Dugan had the most votes as qualified, 155, but also the most as unqualified, 58. Her opponent, recently appointed Paul Rifelj, had 154 qualifieds and only 19 unqualifieds, and 106 no opinion votes.

High "no opinion" scores were also seen in the Branch 45 race, where Michelle Ackerman Havas, on the bench since her appointment in August, received 145 qualified, 25 unqualified and 108 no opinion votes. Her challenger, Jean Kies, got scores of 121, 31, and 124 in the respective categories.