The candidate knocked out of the race for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court is endorsing state Appeals Court Judge JoAnne Kloppenburg.
Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Joe Donald announced the endorsement saying that Kloppenburg shares his “commitment to equal justice under the law, to an independent judiciary and to ensuring the Supreme Court is the people’s court.”
Donald finished third behind Justice Rebecca Bradley, who was appointed to the high court by Republican Gov. Scott Walker, and Kloppenburg. Bradley finished the primary with 45 percent of the vote, compared to Kloppenburg’s 43 percent. Donald had 12 percent of the vote.
The endorsement is a shift for Donald, who once endorsed Bradley for a different judicial position.
Kloppenburg, of Madison, previously ran for the Supreme Court in 2011. Then an assistant state attorney general, she lost to Justice David Prosser in a race so close it went to a recount. Kloppenburg won election to the Madison-based District 4 Court of Appeals in 2012.
While Donald only got 12 percent of the statewide vote, he did much better in Milwaukee County, with 25 percent.
