1990 Wisconsin Supreme Court election

1990 Wisconsin Supreme Court election
← 1980 2000 →
	Steinmetz: 50–60% 60–70%; Brown: 50–60% 60–70%
Justice before election; Donald W. Steinmetz;	Elected Justice ; Donald W. Steinmetz;

The 1990 Wisconsin Supreme Court election was held on April 3, 1990, to elect a justice to the Wisconsin Supreme Court for a ten-year term. Incumbent justice Donald W. Steinmetz was re-elected over Richard S. Brown (a judge on the state Appeals Court).

Candidates

Donald W. Steinmetz, incumbent justice
Richard S. Brown, judge on the state Appeals Court

Campaign

The incumbent justice, Steinmetz, was a conservative member of the court.^[1] His opponent, Brown, received considerable support as a challenger, and was given an editorial board endorsement by the Milwaukee Journal. Following a contentious campaign, Steinmetz defended his seat to win re-election.^[2]^[3]

Result

1980 Wisconsin Supreme Court election^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
General election (April 3, 1990)
	Nonpartisan	Donald W. Steinmetz (incumbent)	355,681	51.87
	Nonpartisan	Richard S. Brown	330,067	48.13
Majority			25,514	3.74
Total votes			685,748	100.0

References

^ "Brown files for high court race". The Milwaukee Sentinel. October 14, 1989. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
^ "Best choices on Tuesday's ballot". The Milwaukee Journal. April 2, 1990. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
^ Lamke, Kenneth R. (April 6, 1990). "Incumbency, endorsements, and negative ads all work". The Milwaukee Sentinel. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
^ "State of Wisconsin Blue Book 1991/1992 - Full view - UWDC - UW-Madison Libraries". search.library.wisc.edu (University of Wisconsin–Madison Libraries). State of Wisconsin. 1991. p. 880. Retrieved April 8, 2025.

[Filing-1] "Brown files for high court race". The Milwaukee Sentinel. October 14, 1989. Retrieved July 31, 2015.

[2] "Best choices on Tuesday's ballot". The Milwaukee Journal. April 2, 1990. Retrieved July 31, 2015.

[3] Lamke, Kenneth R. (April 6, 1990). "Incumbency, endorsements, and negative ads all work". The Milwaukee Sentinel. Retrieved July 31, 2015.

[4] "State of Wisconsin Blue Book 1991/1992 - Full view - UWDC - UW-Madison Libraries". search.library.wisc.edu (University of Wisconsin–Madison Libraries). State of Wisconsin. 1991. p. 880. Retrieved April 8, 2025.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e (1988 ←) 1990 United States elections (→ 1992)
U.S. Senate	Alabama Alaska Arkansas Colorado Delaware District of Columbia (shadow) Georgia Hawaii (Special) Idaho Illinois Indiana (Special) Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Montana Nebraska New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico North Carolina Oklahoma Oregon Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Virginia West Virginia Wyoming
U.S. House	Alabama Alaska Arkansas Arizona California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia delegate shadow Florida Georgia Hawaii 2nd sp Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey 1st sp New Mexico New York 14th sp 18th sp North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
State governors	Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Lt. Gov Colorado Connecticut District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Iowa Kansas Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Mexico New York Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Vermont Wisconsin Wyoming
Attorneys General	California Connecticut Michigan New York
State legislatures	Arizona Arizona House Arizona Senate California Senate Iowa Senate Maryland House Senate Minnesota House Senate Wyoming Senate
Mayors	Anchorage, AK Irvine, CA New Orleans, LA San Jose, CA Washington, DC
States generally	Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

v t e Wisconsin Supreme Court elections
Seat currently held by Janet Protasiewicz	1852 1859 1865 1868 sp. 1871 1877 1883 1893 1898 sp. 1903 1913 1923 1933 1943 1953 1963 1973 1983 1993 2003 2013 2023 2033
Seat currently held by Ann Walsh Bradley (Justice-elect: Susan M. Crawford)	1852 1855 1861 1867 1873 1879 1881 sp. 1889 1899 1908 sp. 1909 1918 sp. 1919 1929 1939 1949 1958 1965 1975 1985 1995 2005 2015 2025 2035
Seat currently held by Rebecca Dallet	1852 CJ 1860 CJ sp. 1863 CJ 1868 CJ sp. 1869 CJ 1875 CJ 1881 CJ 1891 1899 sp. 1901 1911 1921 1930 sp. 1931 1941 1950 sp. 1951 1961 1970 1980 1990 2000 2008 2018 2028
Seat currently held by Annette Ziegler	1877 1887 1896 sp. 1897 1907 1917 1927 1937 1947 1957 1967 1977 1987 1997 2007 2017 2027
Seat currently held by Brian Hagedorn	1878 1885 1892 sp. 1895 1905 1915 1922 sp. 1925 1935 1945 1952 sp. 1955 1964 1974 1979 1989 1999 2009 2019 2029
Seat currently held by Rebecca Bradley	1904 1914 1924 1934 1944 1954 1959 1969 1976 1986 1996 2006 2016 2026
Seat currently held by Jill Karofsky	1906 1916 1926 1936 1946 1956 1966 1968 1978 1984 1994 2001 2011 2020 2030