After liberals won four of the last five Wisconsin Supreme Court races, Derrick Van Orden had a simple solution.

“I think they should get rid of that (nonpartisan spring election) and fold it into a midterm or a four-year cycle,” the Republican congressman told reporters. That would be like the Chicago Bears asking to stop playing the Green Bay Packers because the Packers won 11 of the last 12 games.

Wisconsin’s spring elections date back even further than that rivalry — all the way back to 1854. And unlike changing the NFL schedule, electing judges during fall partisan elections would require amending the state constitution.

Since statehood, the constitution has prohibited judicial elections within 30 days of elections for other state officials, except the superintendent of public inst

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