What’s At Stake in the Wisconsin Supreme Court Race and Why Elon Musk Is Involved
The landslide sweep for the Republican party during last year’s election is set to be tested on Tuesday during a special election for Wisconsin’s Supreme Court.
The race has become the most expensive judicial race in U.S. history, with investments nearing $100 million as the candidates, Donald Trump-endorsed Brad Schimel and liberal-backed Dane County Judge Susan Crawford, face each other. The winner will decide the supermajority of the court, which is currently liberal.
[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]The impact of the Wisconsin race could be felt at a national level, as the state’s Supreme Court is set to rule on issues from abortion rights to congressional redistricting, the latter of which would impact the makeup of the U.S. House of Representatives in particular. Republicans hold a slim 218 to 213 majority, with four vacancies currently at play. Another special election in Florida—for the seats of National Security Adviser Michael Waltz, the man behind the Signal chat leak to The Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg, and former Rep. Matt Gaetz, who resigned in his failed pursuit of the position for attorney general—has already put Republican control at risk.
Elon Musk, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) head and CEO of X, along with groups that support him, have donated about $20 million to support Schimel, with Musk even handing out checks for $1 million to two Wisconsin voters on Sunday.
“If the [Wisconsin] supreme court is able to redraw the districts, they will gerrymander the district and deprive Wisconsin of two seats on the Republican side,” Musk said on Sunday. “Then they will try to stop all the government reforms we are getting done for you, the American people.”
Election day in Wisconsin is April 1st. Here’s what to know.
Who are the candidates?
The Wisconsin election will decide the ideological makeup of the court in a swing state that elected Trump for President in 2024, but voted for former President Joe Biden in 2020.
Musk is backing Schimel, the former Attorney General for Wisconsin and a self-described “top cop,” according to his election website. He promises to be “tough on crime,” per his campaign slogan, and positions himself in opposition to the “rogue judges across the nation putting their radical agenda above the law.”
He is also endorsed by Trump.
Schimel’s opponent, Crawford, is a Circuit Court Judge who says she is running to “protect the basic rights and freedoms of Wisconsinites under our constitution.” A former prosecutor and private practice attorney who previously represented the Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, Crawford says she wants to fight to protect basic rights that are under threat by a right-wing agenda.
She is endorsed by four current Wisconsin Supreme Court Justices, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin, and organizations such as the Wisconsin Education Association Council and Emily’s List.
Why does Elon Musk care so much about this race?
Musk, who called the race critical for the “future of civilization” at an America PAC event on Sunday, has been a key contributor to the race. Individual campaign contributions can only amount to $20,000, but so far, Musk has donated at least $3 million to Wisconsin’s Republican Party. Other groups fueled by Musk’s dollars have contributed more than $20 million in the race.
Crawford has been overtly critical of the billionaire’s actions. “Elon Musk would really like to buy himself a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court,” she said. “He wants to put somebody there that he thinks he can have some influence over and access to.”
Tesla is currently embroiled in a lawsuit regarding dealer licenses after the company’s dealer license was denied in 2024 because of a state law barring manufacturers from owning dealerships, according to Wisconsin Public Radio. The case could potentially reach the state’s Supreme Court.
Is Musk really handing out $1 million checks to voters?
On Sunday, Musk handed out a million-dollar check to two registered voters in the state.
Musk first used this tactic during the general election, where he also gave voters a million-dollar prize if they registered to vote in swing states. Election law experts suggested then that the act was illegal because federal law forbids people from paying or accepting payments to register to vote.
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul filed a lawsuit on Friday to prevent Musk from handing out the exorbitant payments to voters, though an appellate court denied his request.
Is George Soros involved in this race?
Philanthropist George Soros, a well-known liberal donor who is often the subject of right-wing conspiracy theories, has given $2 million to the state’s Democratic party. Musk blamed Soros on Sunday when he was interrupted while speaking in Wisconsin, saying it was “inevitable at least a few Soros operatives would be in the audience.”