Conservative Appeals Court Judge Brian Hagedorn formally announced his bid for the state Supreme Court today, saying Wisconsinites “want a justice who will defend the rule of law, uphold the constitution, and protect the public.”

Hagedorn, a formal chief legal counsel to Gov. Scott Walker, has been weighing a bid over the last several months for the seat being given up by liberal Justice Shirley Abrahamson. So far, fellow 2nd District Court of Appeals Judge Lisa Neubauer is the only other candidate to formally announce a campaign.

Hagedorn also announced this morning he has been endorsed by conservative Justices Rebecca Bradley and Daniel Kelly, along with former Justice Michael Gableman. Hagedorn formally clerked for Gableman, who didn’t seek re-election this spring.

He pledged to uphold the constitution “as it is written” and apply the law fairly to everyone. He also said the next justice has to “protect the public” and that the courts must be “part of the conversation” on the heroin and meth epidemics in Wisconsin.

“Defending the rule of law means that personal political values have no place on the Wisconsin Supreme Court,” Hagedorn said in his announcement. “A judge’s job is to say what the law is, not what the judge thinks the law should be. And it doesn’t matter which political party writes the laws.”

Walker appointed Hagedorn to the appeals court in 2015. He’s also a former assistant attorney general at the Wisconsin Department of Justice and was president of the Federalist Society while attending Northwestern University’s Law School.

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