As Musk buys votes, it's time to answer which shall rule: Wealth or the people?

The following guest post was written for Daily Kos by Ben Wikler, chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. This post does not represent an official endorsement by Daily Kos. This post does not represent an official endorsement by Daily Kos.

In 1873, Justice Edward Ryan, chief justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, addressed the graduating class of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and asked: Which shall rule—wealth or man?

The enterprises of the country are aggregating vast corporate combinations of unexampled capital, boldly marching, not for economic conquests only, but for political power. The question will arise, and arise in your day, though perhaps not fully in mine: Which shall rule—wealth or man; which shall lead—money or intellect; who shall fill public stations—educated and patriotic free men, or the feudal serfs of corporate capital?

The day has come—and on Tuesday, Wisconsinites will answer that question. 

Are we feudal serfs of the richest man in the world, Elon Musk? Or are we free? 

Shaped by that 1873 speech was a young Robert M. La Follette, future Wisconsin senator, who went on to renown for battle monopolies and corporate trusts—a fight that earned him the nickname “Fighting Bob.” 

Today, Judge Susan Crawford is the fighter Wisconsin needs. And the battlefield is now the Wisconsin Supreme Court itself. 

Amid the flood of money from Musk—roughly $25 million and rising fast—it is up to us to fight alongside Crawford to ensure that Musk’s bag man, Brad Schimel, doesn’t capture the decisive vote on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. 

Related | Musk hands out wads of cash to buy Wisconsin Supreme Court seat

Here’s where things stand as of now: In the middle of the night Thursday, Elon Musk announced in a now-deleted tweet that he would come to Wisconsin and hold an event, open only to people who had already voted, in which he would give away two $1 million checks. 

Musk’s offer of $1 million checks is a plain violation of the Wisconsin prohibition on offering something of value to induce someone to vote. Making such an offer is a felony. 

Wisconsin Attorney General Kaul has filed a lawsuit to block Musk from making these payments, and the local and national media is avidly covering it. 

Earlier this month, Musk’s group put out a poll saying Schimel is behind by 1 to 5 percentage points, depending on turnout scenarios. 

Musk tweeted that a Schimel victory would be “Difficult but not impossible.” The momentum is on Crawford’s side, which could explain the desperate gambles from Musk to help Schimel. 

Early vote levels—both in-person and by mail—have shot up relative to 2023, which was itself a record-turnout year. Votes cast by mail are up 22%, while in-person early votes are up by 102%. 

Because in-person voting tends to be less Democratic-heavy than mail-in voting, this record turnout suggests a tighter race than the 2023 Janet Protasiewicz blowout—but nobody can be sure until we see what happens on Election Day itself. 

If you live in Wisconsin and haven’t voted yet, go to vote.wisdems.org to find your polling place. Wisconsin has same-day voter registration, which means you can register and vote on Tuesday.

Organizing energy is off the charts. WisDems volunteers have knocked on thousands of doors and placed millions of phone calls, smashing records set in 2023. We’ll work around the clock until the polls close to turn out yet more voters, so sign up to knock on some doors this weekend! 

And no matter where you live, you can join a phone bank. 

Spending has reached preposterous levels, and will easily eclipse $100 million. Musk himself represents about a quarter of that total. 

For Crawford, her support comes from more than 125,000 donors who have chipped in amounts small or large. Know someone who could help? Send them to crawfordforwi.com or wisdems.org. 

Voters are furious about corruption from Donald Trump, Musk, Trump, and Schimel’s corruption. They value their freedom. They value their democracy. As Gov. Tony Evers posted on Friday, “Wisconsinites will not be bought. Our votes are not for sale.” 

Let’s elect Susan Crawford and show that the people still rule in the Badger State. Four days left. Give it everything you’ve got. Chip in here.