A conservative Wisconsin appeals court judge announced Wednesday she is running for an open seat on the battleground state's Supreme Court, promising to stop the politicization of the courts after record-high spending in the last race , fueled by billionaires Elon Musk and George Soros.

Appeals Court Judge Maria Lazar, who formerly worked as a prosecutor for the Wisconsin Department of Justice, is the first conservative to get into the race, which will be decided in April. Liberal Appeals Court Judge Chris Taylor, a former Democratic state lawmaker, also is running.

Conservative candidates for the high court have lost each of the past two elections by double-digit margins. Both of those races broke national spending records, and a liberal won in April despite spending by Musk,

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