State supreme court elections, 2023

2023 State Judicial Elections
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Two states—Wisconsin and Pennsylvania—held state supreme court elections in 2023. The seat on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held by Justice Max Baer was on the ballot in November 2023. Daniel McCaffery (D) retained Baer's seat for Democrats. The seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court held by Justice Patience Roggensack was on the ballot in April 2023. While Wisconsin Supreme Court elections are officially nonpartisan, justices and candidates are considered to be liberal or conservative. Janet Protasiewicz, endorsed by all of the court's liberal justices, won Roggensack's seat, flipping the court from a Republican majority to a Democratic majority.

Most states do not hold elections in odd-numbered years. Pennsylvania holds judicial elections exclusively in odd-numbered years and Wisconsin holds judicial elections every year. Louisiana and Washington may also hold judicial elections in both even and odd years. In some years, no supreme court justice's term will end and therefore no supreme court election will be held.

Heading into the 2023 elections, Democrats held majorities on 16 courts, Republicans held majorities on 28, and the remaining eight courts’ majorities were either split between parties or unclear. (Texas and Oklahoma both have two courts of last resort.) As a result of the election, Republicans held majorities on 27 courts, Democrats held majorities on 17, and the rest were split or unclear.

On this page, you will find:

• A list of state supreme court elections in 2023
• Information on the different methods of electing judges
• Information on previous state supreme court elections
• Information on historical win rates of incumbent state supreme court justices

Click here for information on state intermediate appellate court elections. Click here for information on local trial court elections.

Offices on the ballot in 2023

In 2023, there were two state supreme court seats on the ballot. The table below highlights the partisan balance of those courts before and after the election.

State supreme courts with elections in 2023
Party		As of the 2023 elections	After the 2023 elections
	Democratic Party	1	2
	Republican Party	1	0
Total		2	2

The map below highlights states that held supreme court elections in 2023 by the party of the winning candidate.