Wisconsin voters have elected Democratic-backed Judge Susan Crawford to the state Supreme Court, preserving the courtʼs liberal majority, a setback for President Donald Trump and his billionaire ally Elon Musk, who had backed her conservative challenger.
Reuters writes about this.
District Judge Crawford defeated conservative Brad Schimel, a former Republican state attorney general and also a district judge. Crawford led by 9 points, garnering about 191 000 votes with 88% of the vote counted.
This election campaign became the most expensive legal contest in US history: according to the Brennan Center at New York University, candidates, state parties, and outside groups spent more than $90 million.
With the balance of power on the court at stake, Musk and his political groups spent more than $21 million to support Schimel. In the run-up to the election, Musk gave $1 million each to three voters who signed a petition he had circulated against “activist judges”. His America PAC promised $100 to each voter who signed a petition against liberal judges, and another $100 for each signer they brought in.
Musk also promised to pay $20 for photos of voters holding a photo of Schimel and giving a thumbs up. He promised an additional $20 for those who post their photos on social media with a polling station in the background (Wisconsin law prohibits campaigning within 30 meters of a polling station).
Muskʼs opponents tried to challenge such payments, calling them an attempt to bribe voters, but the courts refused to ban them.
Trump endorsed Schimel as the race has become a proxy battle on national political issues. The state Supreme Court can rule on cases related to voting rights and redistricting in a state that is likely to be a focus of both next yearʼs congressional midterm elections and the 2028 presidential race.
Opposing Musk, Democrat Crawford was supported by former President Barack Obama and major donors such as philanthropist George Soros.
Wisconsin is one of the swing states where the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates have roughly equal chances of being elected. Trump won Wisconsin by less than a percentage point in 2024 and narrowly lost in the 2020 election.
Thus, the Wisconsin election was the first real test of voter sentiment towards Trump after his few months in power and a series of rather ambiguous decisions.
National Democrats called the result in Wisconsin another step toward their goal of regaining the House of Representatives in 2026.
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