[5] The race was widely considered to be a de facto referendum on legal abortion access in Wisconsin,[6] but election coverage also often focused on how the court would rule on future cases involving politically charged issues of voting rights and redistricting.

Even in cases of rape and health of the mother.”[24] Fair Courts America, a conservative advocacy group funded by megadonors Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein, simultaneously spent $250,000 on radio ads in support of Daniel Kelly.

Daily Kos theorized that A Better Wisconsin Together, which is affiliated with the national group ProgressNow, believed that Dorow would be more difficult to defeat and was trying to prevent her from reaching the April general election.

[26] Protasiewicz released two additional ads on February 7 which stressed her support for fairness and public safety and pokde fun at the difficulty of pronouncing her surname.

[33] Protasiewicz hit back on February 10 with an ad defending her history as a prosecutor and accusing Dorow and Kelly of representing child predators during their time as defense attorneys.

[35] On February 14, Women Speak Out PAC, which is affiliated with Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, announced it would spend "six figures" on pro-Kelly ads highlighting his opposition to abortion.

[57][58] Campaign spending was greater than any judiciary race in United States history, with outside political action committees accounting for more than two thirds of total expenditures.

[60][61] Early and large donations to Protasiewicz via the Democratic Party enabled her campaign to start airing ads weeks before Kelly.

The first continued her previous criticism of Daniel Kelly for representing child predators as a defense attorney, while the second claims he would uphold Wisconsin's abortion ban if elected to the Supreme Court.

[65] On February 27, Fair Courts America booked close to $1 million worth of ads labeling Protasiewicz as soft on crime.

Meanwhile, the conservative group Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce spent $3.2 million in its opening buy, running ads accusing Protasiewicz of issuing low sentences in sexual assault cases.

[69] Another ad accused him of participating in plans to appoint fake electors in 2020 due to Donald Trump's false claims of fraud in the presidential election.

Instead of presenting herself as nonpartisan, Protasiewicz made her support for abortion rights and her opposition to gerrymandering a centerpiece of her campaign, even calling the Republican-drawn state legislative maps "rigged" and "unfair."

In contrast, Kelly gave less specifics about his political positions during the campaign, but had a record of anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ statements, in addition to working for the Wisconsin Republican Party in 2020 as a part of the attempt to overturn the presidential election.

Additionally, Law Forward president Jeffrey Mandell pledged to file a lawsuit against the state's legislative and congressional maps the day after Protasiewicz was seated.

[113] Protasiewicz sided with the other three liberals on the court in a December 2023 decision striking down the legislative district maps on technical grounds.