Martin Joseph Donald
Martin Joseph Donald is a judge for District I of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals. He assumed office on September 6, 2019. His current term ends on July 31, 2026.
Donald is running for re-election for the District I judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals. The primary for this office on February 17, 2026, was canceled.
Donald was appointed to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals by Gov. Tony Evers (D) on September 4, 2019. He succeeded Kitty Brennan, who retired.[1]
Donald was a judge for the Milwaukee County Circuit Court in Wisconsin.[2] He was first appointed to the position in 1996 by Governor Tommy Thompson (R) and was elected in 1997. He was re-elected in 2015 and stepped down in September 2019 to serve on the District 1 Court of Appeals.[3][4][5]
In the spring of 2016, Donald ran unsuccessfully for the Wisconsin Supreme Court seat vacated by longtime Judge N. Patrick Crooks, who died on September 21, 2015; the seat was then held by Justice Rebecca Bradley.[6][7] He was defeated in the primary election of February 16 by Bradley and JoAnne Kloppenburg.[8]
Education
Donald attended Shorewood High School and went on to earn his B.A. from Marquette University in 1982. Later, he earned his J.D. from the Marquette University School of Law in 1988.[3][4]
Career
- 2019-Present: Judge, Wisconsin Court of Appeals District I
- 1996-2019: Judge, Milwaukee County Circuit Court
- 1989-1996: Assistant city attorney, City of Milwaukee
- 1988-1989: Law clerk, Milwaukee County Circuit Court
Elections
2026
See also: Wisconsin intermediate appellate court elections, 2026
General election
The general election will occur on April 7, 2026.
General election for Wisconsin Court of Appeals District I
Incumbent Martin Joseph Donald (Nonpartisan) is running in the general election for Wisconsin Court of Appeals District I on April 7, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Martin Joseph Donald (Nonpartisan) | |
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Nonpartisan primary
The primary scheduled for February 17, 2026, was canceled. Incumbent Martin Joseph Donald (Nonpartisan) advanced from the primary for Wisconsin Court of Appeals District I without appearing on the ballot.
Endorsements
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2020
See also: Wisconsin intermediate appellate court elections, 2020
General election
General election for Wisconsin Court of Appeals District I
Incumbent Martin Joseph Donald won election in the general election for Wisconsin Court of Appeals District I on April 7, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Martin Joseph Donald (Nonpartisan) | 98.9 | 128,621 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.1 | 1,377 | ||
| Total votes: 129,998 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Campaign finance
2016
- Main article: Wisconsin Supreme Court elections, 2016
Donald ran for the Wisconsin Supreme Court in the 2016 election. The primary took place on February 16, 2016, and the general election was held on April 5, 2016. Donald ran for the seat held for two decades by Justice N. Patrick Crooks who, having already planned to retire, died on September 21, 2015. Donald was the second to announce a run for Crooks' seat, after JoAnne Kloppenburg and before Rebecca Bradley and Claude Covelli. Covelli dropped out on December 22, 2015, saying he did not have enough time to campaign properly.[6][7][9] Donald was defeated in the primary by Rebecca Bradley and JoAnne Kloppenburg.
Primary
The primary election was held February 16, 2016.
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ideology[10] | Candidate | Percentage | Votes | |
| Liberal | Martin Joseph Donald | 12.1% | 68,746 | |
| Liberal |  JoAnne Kloppenburg |
43.2% | 244,729 | |
| Conservative | Rebecca Bradley |
44.7% | 252,932 | |
| Vote Total: | 566,407 | |||
3474 of 3474 precincts reporting
Source: Wisconsin Government Accountability Board Official Results
Noteworthy events
Judge Donald accuses Bradley of coordinating with outside groups
- See also: Bradley television advertisements
At the beginning of the campaign, Justice Bradley pledged to not coordinate with outside groups. However, her opponent Martin Joseph Donald accused her of coordinating with a conservative organization called "Wisconsin Alliance for Reform," which spent approximately $400,000 on an ad campaign on behalf of Bradley. The organization used footage that Bradley had uploaded to the internet for their ad. Donald accused Bradley of "hyper-partisan campaign tactics." The third candidate in the race, JoAnne Kloppenburg added that the ad "looks like coordination." Wisconsin Alliance for Reform" denied any coordination with Bradley's campaign, saying that the footage was publicly available. Bradley's campaign also denied any direct coordination with the outside organization and accused Donald of "desperately decid[ing] to try to promote himself by attacking Justice Bradley."[11]
Donald makes his case to the Capital Times
The Capital Times interviewed the three candidates for state supreme court justice in February 2016. Donald positioned himself as the only candidate not affiliated with one political party: "I am the only candidate running who has demonstrated their independence for 20 years as a judge." Donald reminded voters that he was originally appointed by a Republican, but has been endorsed in the 2016 election by former Democratic senator Herb Kohl. He also emphasized his experience on the bench dealing with a variety of issues including criminal justice reform. Donald concluded the interview by saying,
| “ | You have a choice to make this election. I believe my candidacy offers you a new opportunity to reject the partisanship and special interests who seek anything but fair outcomes from our third branch of government. You can send a message this election to reject the divisiveness that has marred our politics the past few years. Most importantly, with your help and vote this election, I believe we can put the Wisconsin Supreme Court back on the side of the people.[12][13] | ” |
Republican Party working on behalf of Bradley
On December 2, 2015, the campaign of opponent Joe Donald criticized what it said was coordination between Bradley and the state Republican Party. Bradley's campaign denied any wrongdoing.[7]
2015
Unopposed Judge NAME
[5]
Approach to the law
In an interview with The Capital Times, Donald stressed the importance of a nonpartisan judiciary:
| “ | We cannot let our Supreme Court and judicial branch of government fall into this same kind of partisan gamesmanship. The political pendulum always swings back and forth from left to right, but our Constitution does not. When we allow our judicial elections to become poisoned by partisan politics and special interest money, we lose the independence and integrity of our court to rule on cases and interpret the law fairly.[12][13] | ” |
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
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2020
Martin Joseph Donald did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
Campaign finance information for this candidate is not yet available from OpenSecrets. That information will be published here once it is available.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Journal Sentinel, "Evers names Milwaukee County Judge Joe Donald to Appeals Court in Milwaukee, lawyer Jeffrey Davis in Waukesha," September 4, 2019
- ↑ Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, "Court Directory," accessed September 28, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Wisconsin Election Watch, "Martin Joseph Donald," accessed December 6, 2013
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Milwaukee Mag, "The Rescue Squad," April 19, 2011
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "2015 Spring Election," accessed January 8, 2015
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 WSAU, "Candidates line-up to replace retiring Supreme Court justice," September 18, 2015
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Molly Beck, Wisconsin State Journal, "GOP seeking signatures on behalf of Rebecca Bradley," December 2, 2015
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedWisn - ↑ Daily Journal, "Madison attorney Claude Covelli drops out of state Supreme Court race," December 22, 2015
- ↑ This is a nonpartisan election, but where possible Ballotpedia draws on endorsements, court decisions, and other data to infer ideological affiliation.
- ↑ The Capital Times, "Joe Donald's Wisconsin Supreme Court campaign trolls Rebecca Bradley with her own footage," accessed February 13, 2016
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 The Capital Times, "Judge Joe Donald: Reject partisanship by voting for me for the court," accessed February 13, 2016
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Ballot Access Checklist For 2015 Judicial Candidates," accessed December 18, 2014
Federal courts:
Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Wisconsin, Western District of Wisconsin • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Wisconsin, Western District of Wisconsin
State courts:
Wisconsin Supreme Court • Wisconsin Court of Appeals • Wisconsin Circuit Courts • Wisconsin Municipal Courts
State resources:
Courts in Wisconsin • Wisconsin judicial elections • Judicial selection in Wisconsin
