Chris Taylor | |
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Judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals for the 4th district | |
Assumed office August 1, 2023 | |
Preceded by | Michael R. Fitzpatrick |
Judge of the Dane County Circuit Court Branch 12 | |
In office August 1,2020 –July 31,2023 | |
Appointed by | Tony Evers |
Preceded by | Jill Karofsky |
Succeeded by | Ann Peacock |
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly | |
In office January 3,2013 –July 31,2020 | |
Preceded by | Terese Berceau |
Succeeded by | Francesca Hong |
Constituency | 76th district |
In office August 9,2011 –January 3,2013 | |
Preceded by | Joe Parisi |
Succeeded by | Melissa Agard |
Constituency | 48th district |
Personal details | |
Born | Christine Lyn Taylor January 13,1968 Los Angeles,California,U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | James Feldman |
Children | 2 |
Education | University of Pennsylvania (BA) University of Wisconsin,Madison (JD) |
Website | Campaign website |
Christine Lyn Taylor (born January 13,1968) is an American lawyer,jurist,and former politician from Madison,Wisconsin. She is a judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals,sitting on the Madison-based 4th district court since 2023. She previously served three years as a Wisconsin circuit court judge (2020–2023) and served nine years as a Democratic member of the Wisconsin State Assembly (2011–2020) representing downtown Madison. [1] [2] [3] She will be a candidate for Wisconsin Supreme Court in the 2026 election.
Taylor and her older sister were raised by her parents in Southern California. She graduated from Birmingham High School in Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles and received her bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1990. She then attended the University of Wisconsin Law School,earning her Juris Doctor in 1995. She remained in Wisconsin,was admitted to the State Bar of Wisconsin,and worked as a private practice attorney in Milwaukee and Madison from 1996 to 2002. She then became the public policy director for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin.
In 2011,a vacancy occurred in the Wisconsin State Assembly due to the resignation of Joe Parisi,who had been elected to serve as Dane County Executive. Taylor had not held any public office before,but topped the crowded six-person Democratic primary with 31% of the vote. She faced no Republican opponent in the general election,and won 5,459 votes;there were 591 write-in votes against her. [4]
The heavily Democratic 48th District included parts of the east and far east sides of Madison,parts of Monona and McFarland and the towns of Blooming Grove and Dunn. [4] But this would be the final year for these district boundaries,as new districts had already been passed by the Republican Legislature. In 2012,she would run for re-election in the redrawn 76th district,which contained parts of downtown Madison and northeast Madison—including the Wisconsin State Capitol.
In 2017,after Representative Peter Barca announced he would step down from his role as Democratic minority leader in the Assembly,Taylor was considered a strong candidate to replace him. However,she supported Gordon Hintz for the role and was appointed to the budget-writing Joint Finance Committee shortly thereafter. [5] In addition to Joint Finance,Taylor served on the Joint Legislative Council and the Assembly committees on Federalism and Interstate Relations,on Finance,and on Public Benefit Reform. [2]
Taylor was re-elected in 2012,2014,2016,and 2018,but only faced an opponent in 2016,when she won 83% of the vote. On March 26,2020,Taylor announced she would not be a candidate for re-election in 2020. [6] [7]
On June 11,2020,Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers announced he was appointing Taylor to the Wisconsin circuit court in Dane County. Taylor replaced Judge Jill Karofsky,who had been elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court in the April 2020 General Election. [1] Taylor was subsequently elected to a full term as judge in the April 2021 election.
In 2023,she was elected to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals,running without opposition in the election to succeed outgoing judge Michael R. Fitzpatrick. Just a year after her election,Taylor was discussed as a potential candidate for Wisconsin Supreme Court in the 2025 election after incumbent justice Ann Walsh Bradley announced her retirement. Taylor ultimately did not choose to run in that election,instead endorsing eventual winner Susan M. Crawford.
Shortly after the 2025 Supreme Court election,Taylor announced that she would be a candidate in the 2026 Wisconsin Supreme Court election,challenging incumbent justice Rebecca Bradley. [8] Shortly after announcing her campaign,Taylor received the endorsement of all four liberal justices on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. [9]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Special Democratic Primary, July 12, 2011 | |||||
Democratic | Chris Taylor | 3,383 | 31.40% | ||
Democratic | Vicky Selkowe | 2,452 | 22.76% | ||
Democratic | Fred Arnold | 1,507 | 13.99% | ||
Democratic | Andy Heidt | 1,190 | 11.05% | ||
Democratic | Bethany Ordaz | 1,149 | 10.67% | ||
Democratic | Dave De Felice | 1,086 | 10.08% | ||
Scattering | 6 | 0.06% | |||
Plurality | 931 | 8.64% | |||
Total votes | 10,773 | 100.0% | |||
Special Election, August 9, 2011 | |||||
Democratic | Chris Taylor | 5,453 | 93.50% | ||
Scattering | 379 | 6.50% | |||
Plurality | 5,074 | 87.00% | |||
Total votes | 5,832 | 100.0% | |||
Democratic hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
General Election, November 8, 2016 | |||||
Democratic | Chris Taylor | 33,628 | 82.77% | ||
Republican | Jon Rygiewicz | 6,877 | 16.93% | ||
Scattering | 124 | 0.31% | |||
Plurality | 26,751 | 65.84% | |||
Total votes | 40,629 | 100.0% | |||
Democratic hold |