But the message is clear: once again in 2027, just as this year and in the previous cycles, there will be no meaningful choice. By that time there will be five partisan liberals on the court and Brunette will run promising to be the sixth. By August of 2027 there will be only one conservative, Brian Hagedon, among the seven justices.
Of course, Republicans will nominate someone to run against Brunette, but it won’t matter. Liberal Democrats now own these seats. Two things happened. First, liberals became super-charged about these court races when they figured out that they weren’t going to take back the legislature any time soon, but they could legislate through the court. Then even the supercharger went into overdrive after Roe was overturned. The second thing that happened is that the demographics switched. It’s voters with more years of education who show up to vote in spring elections. Those used to be Republicans, but now they’re Democrats. The Republicans are now the blue collar party while the Democrats are the college-educated.