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Some say a Wisconsin state election next Tuesday is a test for President Trump. Elon Musk has poured more than $18 million into the contest so far. On the other side, mega wealthy donors, George Soros and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, each have given more than a million dollars. Chuck Quirmbach of member station WUWM brings us more.
CHUCK QUIRMBACH, BYLINE: It's a race for a single seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court that has raised as much as $100 million. It's likely the most expensive state Supreme Court election in the country's history. The last time a record was set for a state Supreme Court race was two years ago in Wisconsin.
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JANET PROTASIEWICZ: Well, Wisconsin, guess what? We did it. We did it.
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QUIRMBACH: Winning candidate, Janet Protasiewicz, celebrated on election night in 2023, after giving liberals a court majority for the first time since 2008. Now that another liberal justice on the nonpartisan court is retiring, Republicans are again making a play for control. Elon Musk-funded ads take aim at the Democrats' favorite Supreme Court candidate, Dane County circuit judge, Susan Crawford.
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UNIDENTIFIED NARRATOR: That was Crawford's choice.
QUIRMBACH: One commercial argues Crawford gave a light sentence to a man who sexually assaulted a child.
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UNIDENTIFIED NARRATOR: Another dangerous decision from Susan Crawford, putting all our kids at risk. She's just wrong for Wisconsin.
QUIRMBACH: Crawford defends her decisions for those found guilty and says what's out of place in Wisconsin are Musk's Political Action Committee's efforts to turn out voters for her opponent, Waukesha County circuit judge, Brad Schimel.
SUSAN CRAWFORD: The Musk PACs are distributing fliers that say - protect the Trump agenda with Brad Schimel. That's obviously a very partisan message, and it's not what the Wisconsin Supreme Court is for.
QUIRMBACH: Musk has claimed his top concern is that if Crawford is elected, the liberal state court would redistrict two Wisconsin House seats to give Democrats a chance to win the chamber in 2026. Musk said that this past weekend when he welcomed Schimel on his social media platform, X.
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ELON MUSK: And then, you won't be able to get through the changes that the American people want.
QUIRMBACH: Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries also said this week that the Wisconsin contest is important for House redistricting. But Crawford says she hasn't made any promises on redrawing congressional lines. Also, over the weekend President Trump endorsed Schimel. The conservative judge told reporters he made no promises in return.
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BRAD SCHIMEL: Absolutely nothing - he called me. And he knows about the race, and he knows that it's important that we have the rule of law in Wisconsin.
QUIRMBACH: Crawford is also getting help from well-known billionaires, including George Soros and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker. Her campaign says she alone has raised more than $26 million since entering the race, an amount they say is more than any other judicial race in American history. And Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler has been holding something he calls People vs. Musk town halls.
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BEN WIKLER: The world's richest man, not content to be running the federal government, is also trying to buy our state Supreme Court.
QUIRMBACH: After this town hall, Deb Kohler, who calls herself an independent voter from a mostly Republican family, criticized Musk's cuts to the federal government.
DEB KOHLER: You need to go in and do analysis. In corporate America, you just don't fire a whole generation of people. Think of it.
QUIRMBACH: There is some indication that all the out-of-state spending is wearing on Wisconsin voters. At one Republican rally, Mike Moeller said as much.
MIKE MOELLER: Personally, I think it's gotten out of hand on both sides.
QUIRMBACH: But Moeller says he's still voting for Schimel in the nonpartisan race for the Wisconsin Supreme Court. For NPR News, I'm Chuck Quirmbach, in Milwaukee. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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