President Donald Trump and Elon Musk have gone all-in on Wisconsin’s high-stakes Supreme Court election, backing conservative candidate Judge Brad Schimel, a man they barely know, to flip the court’s majority.
The April 1 election is Trump’s first test with swing state voters following a busy couple of months in office. His administration has slashed thousands of federal jobs, shuttered hundreds of programs, and caused confusion over the future of everything from education to healthcare.
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Over the weekend, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that he was endorsing Schimel, claiming if liberal candidate Dane County Judge Susan Crawford wins, “the Movement to restore our Nation will bypass Wisconsin.” The president also claimed Crawford was the “handpicked voice of the Leftists who are out to destroy your State, and our Country” and accused her of giving “child molesters, rapists, women beaters, and domestic abusers ‘light’ sentences.”
There is a lot at stake in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election. The high court is expected to decide the future of abortion rights in the Midwestern state. The justices could redraw a congressional map that has given Republicans the advantage in the past and helped the party win six of the state’s eight seats. Musk also has a court case with his car company, Tesla, that could be decided before the high court.
Since the start of the new year, Musk has super-sized his involvement in the state race. Groups affiliated or funded by him have poured more than $13 million into the contest.
Last week, his America PAC began offering registered voters $100 if they signed a petition that read: “Judges should interpret laws as written, not rewrite them to fit their personal or political agendas. By signing below, I’m rejecting the actions of activist judges who impose their own views and demanding a judiciary that respects its role — interpreting, not legislating.”
The $100 cash gift, similar to a controversial one he rolled out during the 2024 presidential election in support of Trump, will also pay voters who refer their friends and family to sign the petition. In its fine print, the political action committee claims it will determine who to pay and says payments may not be made for months.
Musk’s new offer in Wisconsin aims to increase awareness and voter registration among conservative voters and help his PAC collect data. Turnouts in Wisconsin court elections are typically much lower than in presidential ones and have favored liberals in the past.
Musk’s PAC used a similar financial incentive scheme during last year’s presidential election, offering voters in seven battleground states, including Wisconsin, a chance at a $1 million lottery prize if they signed a petition supporting the First and Second Amendments.
Over the weekend, Musk hosted Schimel on an audio live stream on his social media platform X.
“If you look at the early voting data so far, Democrats are winning, which is not good,” Musk warned.
Crawford’s campaign has spent a lot of energy calling out Trump and Musk for their involvement in the race and claiming that if Schimel is elected, he will do their bidding in key cases.
The Wisconsin Democratic Party has been hosting town halls across the state called “The People v. Musk.”
The Supreme Court race has already drawn $80 million in total spending as of Friday, with a week more to go, according to WisPolitics, a Wisconsin-based political news outlet. The race is the most expensive judicial race in U.S. history, breaking the $55 million record set in a similar Wisconsin race two years ago. In that election, the court’s ideology was flipped from conservative to liberal.
Crawford’s campaign claimed on its website Monday that she has raised $24 million, a record for an American judicial candidate. From Feb. 4 to March 17, she raised $17 million. Wisconsin has a $20,000 per individual donor limit. Crawford’s campaign says it has received money from 113,000 donors.
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The Democratic Party of Wisconsin has until the end of Monday to release how much it has helped boost Crawford’s campaign.
Crawford has been endorsed by nearly 180 past or present judges, including four justices on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. On Monday, former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre backed Schimel.