Topline
Wisconsin’s Supreme Court election on April 1 is drawing national attention as President Donald Trump has heralded the “important election” while billionaire Elon Musk has poured millions into the high-stakes race, which could have national implications for the 2028 presidential election—and help Musk-owned Tesla.
Elon Musk attends the finals at the NCAA wrestling championship on March 22 in Philadelphia.
Key Facts
Musk and Trump are backing Judge Brad Schimel, a Republican, in Wisconsin’s Supreme Court race as he faces off against Democratic-backed candidate Susan Crawford.
The race will determine which party has control of the Supreme Court in Wisconsin—a major battleground state—which is currently controlled by the left, and is being viewed as a bellwether for how elections in Trump’s second term could go, given it’s the first major election since his inauguration.
Groups affiliated with Musk have spent at least $13 million backing Schimel in the election, as tallied by The Washington Post, with more than $6 million of that from Musk’s America PAC, which he used during the presidential election to back Trump.
America PAC is leading a canvassing operation in which more than 500 staffers are knocking on voters’ doors in Wisconsin, according to The New York Times, and the PAC is also repeating its playbook from the presidential election by offering $100 to Wisconsin voters who sign a “Petition in Opposition to Activist Judges.”
Musk also spoke with Schimel in a public conversation on X on Saturday, and has personally donated at least $3 million to the Republican Party of Wisconsin, which is helping to fund Schimel’s campaign.
When Is The Wisconsin Supreme Court Election?
The election will take place April 1, though early voting has already begun.
Who Is Brad Schimel?
Schimel is a circuit court judge in Wisconsin and the state’s former attorney general. He is a Republican, though the Supreme Court race is nonpartisan. He has expressed a number of conservative views, including opposition to abortion rights, backing more stringent restrictions on voting—like voter ID laws—and, as attorney general, led a lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act. Schimel has also echoed Trump’s rhetoric about voter fraud—which there is no evidence to support—calling for voters to turn out and make his margin in the Supreme Court election “too big to rig.”
Who Is Susan Crawford?
Crawford is also a state circuit judge, who before that was an attorney in private practice. She has been endorsed by Wisconsin’s Democratic Party and other left-leaning groups. Crawford has expressed left-leaning views such as supporting abortion rights and saying the Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade was “wrongly decided,” and she also previously represented a voting rights organization in court arguing against Wisconsin’s voter ID law. In an interview with PBS Wisconsin, Crawford denied that she would rule in a partisan way on the Supreme Court however, saying she’s approaching the race “as a judge, and I want to be a good, fair, impartial, common-sense justice for the people of Wisconsin.”
Why Does The Wisconsin Supreme Court Election Matter?
The race will determine the ideological shift of Wisconsin’s highest court, which could influence how the court rules on a number of very high-profile issues. The court will likely have to decide voting rules for the 2028 presidential election, in which Wisconsin will be a key battleground state, as well as boundaries for the state’s congressional districts. Abortion is also expected to be a key issue in the race, as there are multiple lawsuits now pending before the court over whether the state’s constitution protects abortion rights and whether to uphold a 19th century-era law outlawing the procedure. The New York Times notes the court’s makeup could also be of personal benefit to Musk, as his company Tesla has sued Wisconsin for blocking the company from opening dealerships in the state. Wisconsin generally bans auto manufacturers from owning dealerships, and the state denied Tesla’s application to open dealerships under an exemption in that law. The case could go to the state’s highest court, meaning Musk could be helped out by having a friendly judge on the bench.
Chief Critic
Crawford’s campaign has sought to highlight Schimel’s association with Musk, referring to her opponent as “Elon Schimel” and putting up billboards proclaiming, “Don’t let Elon buy the Supreme Court.” “This race is the first real test point in the country on Elon Musk and his influence on our politics, and voters want an opportunity to push back on that and the influence he is trying to make on Wisconsin and the rest of [the] country,” Crawford campaign spokesperson Derrick Honeyman told the Associated Press.
What Do The Polls Show?
A Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce poll conducted March 9-10 showed Schimel and Crawford each with 47% support, suggesting this will be a close race. A recent Marquette Law School poll found Wisconsin voters hadn’t been very informed about this election, however, with 38% saying they haven’t heard enough about Schimel to have an opinion and 58% saying the same about Crawford. That poll was conducted in late February, before Trump and Musk started significantly weighing in on the race. The national spotlight they’ve put on the election is likely to make voters more aware of who’s running, though it remains to be seen if it will be enough for Schimel to pull out a win.
What Billionaires Have Donated To The Wisconsin Supreme Court Election?
Musk is far from the only billionaire who is financially backing the Wisconsin Supreme Court race. Among the other billionaires listed in public filings as spending thousands to support Schimel—either directly or through the Wisconsin Republican Party—are ABC Supply cofounder Diane Hendricks, Uline president Elizabeth Uihlein, Uline CEO Richard Uihlein and Joe Ricketts, the founder of TD Ameritrade and owner of the Chicago Cubs. Crawford has also drawn significant billionaire support from the likes of Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman and Democratic megadonor George Soros, who gave the Wisconsin Democratic Party $1 million in January.
Big Number
$100 million. That’s how much money could ultimately be spent on the Wisconsin Supreme Court election in support of both Schimel and Crawford, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel projected last week. That would be a historic amount and more than double the $51 million spent in 2023, a previous spending record for a Supreme Court race in the state. More than $73 million has already been spent on the race, according to a tally compiled by the Brennan Center for Justice, including more than $32 million supporting Crawford and $41 million supporting Schimel.
Forbes Valuation
Forbes values Musk’s net worth at $351.2 billion as of Tuesday morning, ranking him as the richest person in the world.
Key Background
Musk, the richest person in the world, ramped up his political giving last summer, when he formed America PAC shortly after endorsing Trump following the assassination attempt against the then-candidate. The Tesla CEO went on to become one of Trump’s top donors, creating a political operation through America PAC that ran a significant ground game backing Trump in battleground states and offered money to voters in swing states who signed on to a petition—which raised legal concerns but ultimately was upheld in court. Musk vowed to keep his political operation going in future elections following Trump’s win, saying in November that America PAC would “keep grinding” and “increasing Republican registrations in key districts around the country, in preparation for special elections and the midterms”—with the Wisconsin election being the first major event for the PAC following the presidential race.
Further Reading
Elon Musk Returns to His Trump Playbook in a Big Wisconsin Race (New York Times)
Abortion once more plays a key role in a state political fight, this time in Wisconsin’s court race (Associated Press)
Trump backs Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate in hotly contested race (Associated Press)
Musk and Trump ratchet up involvement in Wisconsin Supreme Court race (Washington Post)
