Wisconsin Supreme Court race shows Democrats how to fight back—and win

The following guest post was written for Daily Kos by Ben Wikler, chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.

Justice-elect Susan Crawford’s victory on Tuesday over Brad Schimel, Elon Musk, and Donald Trump could mark a sea change in American politics.

Crawford’s victory astonished the country and the world—not just because she won after being outspent by a campaign fueled by the world’s richest man, but because she did so by a double-digit margin in the brightest purple state in America. 

The margin of victory in both the presidential and Senate races in 2024 was under 1 percentage point. Crawford won by 10%. Relative to the 2024 presidential race, every single county in Wisconsin moved left.

This was not the result simply of GOP weakness. Quite the opposite: Schimel turned out so many voters—1,063,244—that if he’d been running in 2023 (when Janet Protasiewicz won by a similar double-digit margin), he would have won. He beat his own vote goal. In fact, Schimel drew more votes than any Supreme Court candidate in Wisconsin history—other than Crawford. 

But Crawford is in a league of her own. 

Her total vote count—1,301,128—not only put her head and shoulders over Schimel’s Supreme Court campaign, it was more than Schimel’s vote total in each of his midterm campaigns for Wisconsin attorney general. 

It’s nearly unheard of for a spring election to generate higher turnout than a November midterm. But Crawford drew more votes in the spring of 2025 than any Republican candidate for governor in a November election in Wisconsin history.

How did this happen? 

First, Crawford ran a spectacular, essentially flawless campaign. She was a phenomenal candidate supported by record-breaking fundraising, a superb team, deep support from the Democratic Party, and a slew of allies committed to year-round, every-zip-code organizing and on-point communications. Great candidates, campaigns, organizing, and messaging matter. 

The Crawford campaign neutralized GOP attacks on crime through blistering offense and credible defense on public safety; united Democrats persuaded Republicans and split off some of them through an intensive offense on abortion; and turned Musk’s involvement into a contrast on candidate character: Crawford’s integrity against Schimel’s corruption. 

Related | Musk selects very suspicious winners of $1 million Wisconsin giveaway

Second, Musk’s personal intervention was absolutely radioactive. His attempt to bribe Wisconsin voters was profoundly insulting, not to mention illegal. But this insult was made one thousand times worse because it added to injury. Voters knew that Musk was taking a chainsaw to their country with one hand—while dangling $100 bills with the other. 

And third, the electorate is enraged. Infuriated by the Trump-Musk administration’s ongoing assault on Social Security, the Veterans Administration, the rule of law, and democracy itself—and so many other things—voters are looking for every possible way to fight back. On Tuesday, they channeled their rage into the ballot box. They will do so again. The backlash has begun. It’s only going to get more intense. 

The explosive turnout for Crawford was simultaneously an affirmation of her leadership—she embodies exactly the kind of integrity and public service that Musk has been trying to purge from our government—and also a collective primal scream that Wisconsin has had enough. 

Related | Conservative Wisconsin justice throws fit over her new colleague

Huge thanks to Crawford, her campaign team, and all the allies, partners, and volunteers in Wisconsin and across the country who poured their hearts and souls into this fight. We did it.

This is a dark moment for our country. But Wisconsin voters lit a candle in the darkness. That flame of hope has already begun to spread like wildfire. 

Every Republican now has to decide whether to lash themselves to Musk and Trump, now knowing that his fortune cannot save their political careers. And every Democrat and every friend of democracy can take heart: we have not yet collapsed into oligarchy. If we keep bringing the dedication, strategy, and strength to each fight that we brought to the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, the American experiment can yet survive.