These are the most important state supreme court races of 2022

State supreme courts have seldom loomed larger than they do now. These courts of last resort in each state have enormous power over our lives, and with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decisions to overturn Roe v. Wade and greenlight partisan gerrymandering, their state counterparts offer progressives one of the last and most important venues for protecting abortion rights, voting rights, and much else.

In many states, the justices who serve on these courts are elected by the people, in races that often receive little attention. But they warrant close consideration, especially because conservative interests have spent years deploying massive resources to reshape state courts to their liking while liberals have all too often neglected them. That pattern, fortunately, has shown signs of changing, with many supreme court races in a number of states this year emerging as major battlegrounds. Below, we preview the top contests on the November ballot. You can find a complete list of all races at Ballotpedia.