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A national Republican group is spending heavily on state judicial elections, prompting incumbent judges targeted by the money to hit the stump as they fight to hold on to their seats.

The Republican State Leadership Committee, which traditionally has focused on gubernatorial and legislative races, is expanding its reach into campaigns for state courts as part of a strategy to help elect small-government, pro-business judges. The Washington, D.C., group plans to spend about $5 million on judicial races this year, reports WSJs Joe Palazzolo:

The effort to influence judicial elections is largely Republicanfor now, no Democratic group is systematically contributing to such races. The GOP committees president, Matt Walter, said his organizations main opponents are labor unions and groups of personal-injury lawyers, who have long contributed to state judicial races. Republican policies, he said, very often run into a buzz saw from liberal activist courts.

The money pouring in from out-of-state groups is upsetting genteel traditions under which judges in some states faced little opposition and avoided the ethically tricky process of soliciting big money and stumping for votes from constituents they might face in court. The attention is an acknowledgment of the role that state supreme courts play in shaping the business climate and social and government policies.

Voters in 38 states elect at least some appellate and trial judges, either in competitive races or single-candidate retention elections in which voters decide whether to keep an incumbent judge, according to advocacy group Justice at Stake. Outside the U.S., the practice of electing judges is almost unheard of.

In November, eight states will hold contested elections for supreme-court justices, and 14 states will hold votes on whether to retain judges, according to the article.

Spending on judicial races started taking off in the 1990s when trial lawyers and business groups began trying to influence elections. The trend has accelerated since the Supreme Court struck down federal limits on corporate and union political spending in its 2010 Citizens United ruling, said Bert Brandenburg, executive director of Justice at Stake, a nonpartisan advocacy group that considers the influx of money a threat to judicial independence.

Sending by special-interest groups and political parties on television ads and other electioneering in judicial races reached a record $24 million in the 2011-12 election cycle, according to research by Justice at Stake and the Brennan Center for Justice.

The Republican committee is also closely tracking judicial elections in Ohio, Michigan, Illinois and Texas, said Mr. Walter, who said the group is focusing on judges supportive of restraining government and creating pro-business growth opportunities.

In Montana, the committee began sending out leaflets last week that painted Mike Wheat, who is seeking re-election to the state Supreme Court, as an activist judge who helped foreign companies seize private property and sided with environmental extremists.

Read more from the original source:
Judges Hit the Stump as Outside Money Pours Into Judicial Races