An election integrity grassroots organization is demanding the Democrat-backed Wisconsin Supreme Court justice candidate cease making what it says are false statements about the Republican-backed candidate in violation of the state’s judicial code of conduct.

Fair Elections Wisconsin (FEW) sent a cease-and-desist letter to Democrat-backed Dane County Circuit Court Judge Susan Crawford, who is running for the state Supreme Court against Republican-backed Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Brad Schimel. The letter alleges that Crawford made multiple false statements against Schimel during her campaign, which violates the state’s judicial code of conduct.

FEW President Justin Gavery sent the letter to Crawford on March 7 but hasn’t heard back and told Just the News on Monday that she is continuing with the false statements about Schimel.

“Judicial candidates, including incumbents and challengers, must refrain from making false, misleading, or deceptive statements,” Gavery’s letter reads.

He also said the Wisconsin Code of Judicial Conduct Supreme Court Rule 60.06, “explicitly prohibits judicial candidates from knowingly misrepresenting any fact concerning themselves, their opponents, or matters relevant to the campaign. Any deviation from this standard not only undermines the credibility of the judiciary but also erodes public trust in the court's ability to administer fair and impartial justice.”

Gavery also cites the Wisconsin Code of Judicial Conduct Supreme Court Rule 60.03, writing that it states that “candidates for Supreme Court Justice must avoid even the appearance of impropriety. The Wisconsin Supreme Court is not a legislative or executive body; it is an institution that must rise above political fray to maintain the rule of law.”

The letter claims that Crawford has lied about Schimel’s record when he was Wisconsin attorney general, saying that she “attacked Schimel for ignoring Rape cases and in particular for not addressing several thousand rape Kits. This statement is false.

“The facts appear to be that for decades many rape kits were stored and not tested. When Brad Schimel became Attorney General in early 2015, he inherited about 6000 kits that had not been tested. By the end of Schimel's term in office, every kit that needed to be tested was tested, and a process was put in place to ensure that testing of kits would continue in the future to prevent a backlog,” Gavery wrote.

He also says that Crawford has “advertised that Schimel supports the 1849 Abortion Law. This statement is false.

“Schimel has repeatedly stated that he has no position on Abortion. He has strongly suggested that in the future any Abortion law should be decided by a public referendum or legislative action which supports what the citizens of Wisconsin want. Like any law, Schimel has promised to support the will of the Wisconsin voters.”

The state’s abortion law criminalizes abortion, making it a felony for anyone who performs an abortion, besides the mother, unless the mother’s life is at risk.

Gavery also alleges that Crawford claims that Schimel “supports Voter Suppression,” when he doesn’t.

Additionally, the letter maintains that Crawford and/or her supporters “have accused Schimel of being soft on crime.” Gavery explains that Schimel didn’t cut a deal for a 20-year-old child pornographer when prosecuting the offender, but that the judge didn’t give the sentence that Schimel recommended.

"Please stop and desist from any further contact with others, public or private, until you have reviewed the above matters and you can verify that they are truthful statements. The people of Wisconsin deserve nothing less," the letter concludes.

The campaigns for Crawford and Schimel didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.

Wisconsin election law attorney Dan Eastman told Restoration News this week that Crawford is wrong to make false statements about Schimel in her campaign.

"The judiciary is supposed to apply the law and make sure it’s being appropriately administered," Eastman said. "Judges should be above reproach and inspire confidence, not disillusionment. Someone like Crawford should not be campaigning on false facts when they are running to be a supreme court justice, and that’s what’s happening here."

The letter comes amid a close and expensive race, with early voting ongoing in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election until Sunday. Election Day is next Tuesday, April 1.

A poll released by Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce earlier this month found that Schimel and Crawford were tied in the race, 47%-47%, with 5% of likely voters undecided.

The poll was conducted by OnMessage Inc., on March 9-10 of 600 likely Wisconsin spring election voters, with a margin of error of +/- 4%.

The nonpartisan election for the high court seat is the second time in two years that the majority of the state Supreme Court is up for grabs. The last election for a seat on the high court resulted in a liberal majority after the conservatives had held the majority for 15 years. Since the new majority was seated, two election cases were decided by the liberal justices, and conservatives are concerned that issues like voter ID could soon be brought before the court.

The current majority on the court is four liberal justices to three conservatives. Last April, liberal Supreme Court Justice Ann Walsh Bradley announced that she would not seek reelection. Bradley will leave her post on July 31st.

In April 2023, then-Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Janet Protasiewicz won the election for the open seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court at the time, flipping it from a conservative majority to liberal. That race was the most expensive judicial race in U.S. history at around $51 million, with this election already surpassing it.

In this Wisconsin Supreme Court race, election spending has nearly reached $81.5 million, and might reach $100 million by Election Day.

More than $17 million has been spent by groups funded by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who is supporting Schimel. Musk also gave the Wisconsin Republican Party $3 million this year.

Schimel has raised more than $12 million, including more than $6 million from the Wisconsin Republican Party. Meanwhile, Crawford has raised more than $25 million for the race thus far, including $5.5 million from the Wisconsin Democratic Party.

Crawford’s financial supporters include progressive billionaire George Soros and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D). Soros donated $1 million to the Wisconsin Democratic Party, and Pritzker gave the state party $500,000.

Early voting totals are already nearly 48% more than this point in the 2023 Wisconsin Supreme Court election.

Ballots have been returned either by mail or in person by more than 345,000 voters, compared to about 233,000 at this time in 2023.