GREEN BAY, Wis.—The Wisconsin Supreme Court race has become a proxy battle for liberal and conservative donors who have spent more than $81 million in a contest both sides say will shape the future of the state and the nation.
Facing off in the April 1 election are Brad Schimel, a Republican-backed county judge from Milwaukee’s western suburbs, and Susan Crawford, a Democrat-supported jurist from Madison.
Judicial elections in the state are technically nonpartisan, although candidates can signal their political leanings by commenting on specific issues.
Schimel, who served as Wisconsin attorney general from 2015 to 2019, has been endorsed by President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Crawford has the backing of the state’s Democratic party, former President Barack Obama, the Wisconsin teachers’ union, Planned Parenthood, and the AFL-CIO.
Also endorsing Crawford are the four Wisconsin Supreme Court justices composing what is generally acknowledged to be the court’s liberal wing.
Conservatives have viewed the race as a battle for the future of the state and of the country. Musk and others have said that if liberals retain their current 4–3 majority on the court, congressional district maps will be redrawn to favor Democrats, potentially changing the balance of power in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Liberals have cast this race as a referendum on Musk, who has played a prominent role in supporting Schimel’s candidacy.
“Elon Musk is trying to buy Wisconsin, and we want to show him that we’re not for sale,” Kristin Lyerly, 54, of Green Bay, told The Epoch Times. Lyerly, a former Democratic congressional candidate, helped organize a sidewalk protest against Musk during a town hall meeting on March 30.
While Musk has been a significant contributor to the race, his effort is just a fraction of the total money spent, most of which has come from out-of-state donors.
Crawford’s campaign has spent more than $21 million, while Schimel’s campaign spending was below $10 million as of March 13 reporting. Donors to Crawford’s campaign have included billionaires George Soros, Reid Hoffman, and JD Pritzker.
Navin Jaruqumillia of Madison, secretary of the Republican Party of Dane County, Wisconsin, was mystified by the protests against Musk.
“I have no idea what the obsession with Elon Musk is,” Jaruqumillia told The Epoch Times. “The fact of the matter is 77 percent of ... Susan Crawford’s money came from out-of-state donors.”
At the March 30 town hall, Musk announced an initiative by America PAC to motivate attendees to go door to door publicizing the election and promoting Schimel’s candidacy. Participants would be paid $20 for getting prospective voters to pose for a photograph holding a picture of Schimel.
Noting that the major betting markets showed Crawford was most likely to win the race, Musk said an extraordinary effort was required.
“We’re basically going to dragnet the state,” Musk said. “Everybody’s going to mobilize everywhere, like crazy, for the next 48 hours. And I think this will be important for the future of civilization.”
Election watchers agree that this contest will come down to voter turnout.
Scott Pressler of Early Vote Action, a voter mobilization group, saw reason for Republicans to be hopeful despite the long odds.
“[In-person absentee voting] is already up by 200,000 from where we were in 2023 at the same moment in time,” Pressler told The Epoch Times on March 30, referring to the most recent election for the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
“That alone is giving us a good idea that the in-person early voting is a better fit for the Republican Party and Brad Schimel,” Pressler said. “Now Election Day turnout, Republicans usually always do better.”
Pressler estimated that as many as 2 million people may vote in this election. Some 3.4 million Wisconsinites voted in the 2024 election, and Trump carried the state with a less than 1 percent margin.
As of March 30, about 645,000 people had returned absentee ballots for the April 1 election.
Democratic-backed candidates have won the last three Supreme Court elections in Wisconsin. Justices serve a 10-year term, and the next expiring term will be that of Chief Justice Annette Ziegler in 2027.
