Democrats' win in Wisconsin court race also is a big loss for Elon Musk
[April 02, 2025]
By NICHOLAS RICCARDI and THOMAS BEAUMONT
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Judge Susan Crawford preserved liberals’ narrow
majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court Tuesday by defeating
conservative Brad Schimel, but in a way the real loser of the election
was billionaire Elon Musk.
Musk and his affiliated groups sunk at least $21 million into the
normally low-profile race and paid three individual voters $1 million
each for signing a petition in an effort to goose turnout in the pivotal
battleground state contest. That made the race the first major test of
the political impact of Musk, whose prominence in President Donald
Trump's administration has skyrocketed with his chaotic cost-cutting
initiative that has slashed federal agencies.
Crawford and the Democrats who backed her made Musk the focus of their
arguments for holding the seat, contending he was “buying” the election,
which set records for the costliest judicial race in history.
“Today Wisconsinites fended off an unprecedented attack on our
democracy, our fair elections and our Supreme Court,” Crawford said in
her victory speech. “And Wisconsin stood up and said loudly that justice
does not have a price, our courts are not for sale.”
Trump endorsed Schimel as the race turned into a proxy fight over
national political issues. The state’s high court can rule on cases
involving voting rights and redistricting in a state likely to be at the
center of both next year’s midterm elections and the 2028 presidential
contest.
But Musk’s involvement dialed those dynamics up to 11: “A seemingly
small election could determine the fate of Western civilization,” the
billionaire said Tuesday in a last-ditch call to voters on his social
media site X. “I think it matters for the future of the world.”
Notably, America PAC, the super PAC backed by Musk, spent at least $6
million on vendors who sent door-to-door canvassers across the state,
according to the non-partisan Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. It was a
reprise of what the group did across the seven most competitive
presidential battleground states, including Wisconsin, which were
carried by Trump in November.
But the end results this time were not good for Musk. Despite the
millions he spent on Schimel, as of late Tuesday night the Supreme Court
candidate was losing by four percentage points more than the other
Republican-backed statewide candidate, Brittany Kinser, who also fell
short in her bid for superintendent of public instruction.
Musk's court race defeat wasn't only because of crushing Democratic
margins in deep blue cities like Madison and Milwaukee. Crawford’s
margins were higher in places where the Musk-backed group America PAC
had been active, including Sauk County, just north of Madison, which
Crawford was carrying by 10 points after Trump won it by less than 2
points in November.
In Brown County, the home of Green Bay where Musk headlined a campaign
rally with 2,000 people on Sunday, Crawford beat Schimel. Trump won the
county by 7 percentage points last year.
Overnight, Musk posted on his X platform that “The long con of the left
is corruption of the judiciary.” In another comment, he seemed to take
solace from voters’ approval to elevate the state’s photo ID requirement
from state law to constitutional amendment. The platform was rife with
criticism from Trump opponents for his involvement in the race.
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Elon Musk speaks at a town hall Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Green
Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)
“Please send @elonmusk to all the close races!” Jon Favreau, former
speechwriter for President Barack Obama, wrote.
“Elon Musk is not good at this,” J.B. Pritzker, Illinois’ Democratic
governor and a billionaire himself who donated to support Crawford,
posted on X.
Voters definitely had Musk on their minds.
“There’s an insane situation going on with the Trump administration,
and it feels like Elon Musk is trying to buy votes,” said Kenneth
Gifford, a 22-year-old Milwaukee college student, as he cast his
ballot on Tuesday. “I want an actual, respectable democracy.”
Others may not have had their vote decided by the billionaire but
were all-too aware of the money pouring into their state.
Jim Seeger, a 68-year-old retiree who previously worked in
communications and marketing, said he voted for Schimel because he
wants Republicans to maintain their outsized majority in Wisconsin’s
congressional delegation, which could be at risk if Crawford wins
and the court orders the maps redrawn. But, he added, he was
disappointed the election had become a “financial race.”
“I think it’s a shame that we have to spend this much money,
especially on a judicial race,” Seeger said as he voted in Eau
Claire.
Wisconsin’s Democratic Attorney General, Josh Kaul, sued to bar Musk
from making his payments to voters if they signed a petition against
“activist judges.” The state Supreme Court unanimously declined to
rule on the case over a technicality.
Musk swooped into the race shortly after Trump’s inauguration.
Republicans were pessimistic about being able to win the seat. They
lost a longtime conservative majority on the state high court in
2023, and Democrats have excelled in turning out their educated,
politically tuned-in coalition during obscure elections such as the
one in Wisconsin.
Musk duplicated and expanded on some of the methods he used in the
final weeks of last year’s presidential race, when he spent more
than $200 million on Trump’s behalf in the seven swing states,
including Wisconsin.
This time, in addition to the $1 million checks, Musk offered to pay
$20 to anyone who signed up on his group’s site to knock on doors
for Schimel and posted a photo of themselves as proof. His
organization promised $100 to every voter who signed the petition
against liberal judges and another $100 for every signer they
referred.
Democrats were happy to make Musk a lightning rod in the race.
“People do not want to see Elon Musk buying election after election
after election,” Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler said
Monday. “If it works here, he’s going to do it all over the
country.”
___
Riccardi reported from Denver. Associated Press writer Meg Kinnard
in Washington contributed to this report.
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