UPDATE (April 1, 2025, 10:20 p.m. ET): On Tuesday night, Susan Crawford defeated Elon Musk-backed rival Brad Schimel to preserve the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s liberal majority in a high-stakes race with national implications.
Trailing $1 million checks, Elon Musk descended on Wisconsin on Sunday night as part of his final bid to buy Tuesday’s state Supreme Court race and solidify his positions as MAGA’s enforcer and kingmaker.
Despite his almost nonexistent relationship with the Badger State, Musk has put himself at the center of the campaign that will determine control of the state’s high court — dumping in at least $20 million, according to The Associated Press, to elect a Trump-friendly candidate — making it the most expensive judicial campaign in American history. Despite warnings that it might be illegal, Musk handed out two checks for $1 million each to voters who had signed his petition against activist judges. (State courts had turned down efforts by the state’s Democratic attorney general to block the handouts.)
Despite his almost nonexistent relationship with the Badger State, Musk has put himself at the center of the campaign that will determine control of the state’s high court.
For Wisconsin, the stakes are monumental: A win by conservative Brad Schimel over liberal Susan Crawford would flip control of the seven-member court, which now has a 4-3 liberal majority, with consequences for the fate of abortion rights, as well as redistricting.
But the vote is also important for Musk, who has effectively made the contest a referendum on himself and his DOGE crusade.
Sunday night, during an elaborately choreographed rally in Green Bay, the world’s richest man cast the Wisconsin vote in near-apocalyptic terms. The outcome will determine who “steers the course of Western civilization,” he declared. “I feel like this is one of those things that may not seem that it’s going to affect the entire destiny of humanity, but I think it will.”
Victory in this crucial swing state would be wind beneath Musk’s wings. Republicans would read it as an endorsement of DOGE, and it would quiet growing GOP anxiety about the unpopularity of that agenda. For Musk, it would be definitive evidence of his political clout.
Defeat, on the other hand, would be seen as a humiliating setback for both Musk and President Donald Trump.
Understanding the stakes, Musk has flooded Wisconsin with cash and paid volunteers who are knocking on doors and trying to persuade low-propensity Trump voters to turn out Tuesday for Schimel. He’s all-in — and he has taken Trump with him. (Trump has endorsed Schimel but not campaigned here on his behalf.)
Even though the race is technically nonpartisan and judges are supposed to be apolitical and independent, almost every piece of literature supporting Schimel features pictures of Trump. One flyer by a Musk-backed Super PAC declares: “Conservative Brad Schimel will support President Trump’s agenda!”
As part of their effort, a Musk-backed group has also posted fake pro-Susan Crawford ads implying she’s a woke progressive. In turn, Democrats have made Musk’s attempt to buy the election a centerpiece of their campaign — accusing Schimel of selling himself to the billionaire. They have also pointed to Schimel’s devotion to the Republican president. Schimel — a judge in Waukesha County — told a group of Turning Point USA activists last month that Trump needed “a support network around him.” Early voting has already set records, and because this is Wisconsin, the race is likely to be close. “They filed over 70 lawsuits against him since he took the oath of office barely a month ago, over 70 lawsuits to try to stop almost every single thing he’s doing because they don’t want him to get a win,” Schimel told the group. “They’re so desperate for him to not get a win that they won’t let America have a win. That’s what they’re doing. The only way we’re going to stop that is if the courts stop it. That’s the only place to stop this lawfare.” Early voting has already set records, and because this is Wisconsin, the race is likely to be close. A poll by Marquette’s Law School in early March found that many voters were unfamiliar with the actual candidates. But the same poll found deep skepticism over the scope and speed of the DOGE spending cuts. And while Trump’s approval rating was 48% favorable to 51% unfavorable, Musk himself was further underwater. Only 41% of Wisconsin voters viewed the mogul favorably; 53% had negative impressions. As for Wisconsin voters who have been enduring a tsunami of spending on the court race: The state will have elections for the Supreme Court every year now, for the next six years. Each election could flip control of the court. So whatever happens Tuesday won’t be the last word. By a long shot.
Charlie Sykes is an MS NOW contributor and the author of the newsletter "To the Contrary." 
