The Sconi

Wisconsin Court of Appeals District 11 Judge Shelley Grogan is leaving little doubt about where she stands in the race to fill the open seat on the state Supreme Court.

"Happy New Year,” Grogan tweeted Dec. 31. “So excited to vote for constitutional conservative Justice Dan Kelly on 2/21/23!"

Grogan isn’t the only public service official to have openly thrown her support behind Kelly in his battle to replace retiring Justice Patience Drake Roggensack. He is running against Waukesha County Judge Jennifer Dorow. Several sheriffs across the state have shown their support for Kelly, while Dorow continues to face mounting criticism for being “soft on crime.”

Kelly has also blasted his rival for seeking to capitalize on the heightened media attention she received from presiding over the trial of Darrell Brooks, the Waukesha Christmas parade attacker, according to News Undone. At the same time, his campaign has pointed to several of Dorow's other cases as glaring examples of her true shortcomings when it comes to crime-fighting.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel also reports that as an attorney, Dorow defended a former high school basketball coach who had a relationship with a teenage girl that he once coached. As the case played out, Dorow argued that the relationship was "not harassment" because it was consensual. Brandon Graser, who was 23 at the time, was later accused of violating a court order banning him from having contact with the 16-year-old girl.

Through it all, Dorow has insisted her record speaks for itself, saying, “We must replace Justice Roggensack with a judicial conservative who will fairly and faithfully apply the law as written to the facts of the cases that go for the court," according to WISN 12 News.

As of Dec. 1, WRN Newsletter said Kelly had netted the endorsements of 18 sheriffs from across the state, including Ozaukee County Sheriff James Johnson.

"When we in law enforcement make arrests, the expectation is that justice will be served, and judges and justices will hold those convicted accountable according to the law," Johnson said told WRN Newsletter. "We have the same expectation for our Supreme Court Justices. Daniel Kelly not only meets those expectations but exceeds them."

Taylor County Sheriff Larry Woebbeking echoed many of Johnson's sentiments in his endorsement.

"Wisconsin needs a constitutional conservative like Justice Daniel Kelly back on the court’s bench," Woebbeking told WRN Newsletter. "More than ever, we need someone who will apply the law as written and protect the rights and freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution. That someone is Daniel Kelly.”

The state's Supreme Court primary election will take place Tuesday, Feb. 21, and the general election will take place April 4, with PBS Wisconsin reporting Dane County Circuit Judge Everett Mitchell and Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Janet Protasiewicz are the two Democratic candidates on the ballot.