Posted on 04/01/25
| News Source: WSJ
Elon Musk’s massive investment in a Wisconsin Supreme Court election didn’t pay off after a liberal judge secured a victory that could tarnish the billionaire’s political clout and trigger worry for some in the GOP about how voters are processing the opening months of President Trump’s new administration.
While the Wisconsin contest was the most significant election held Tuesday, Republicans won two special House elections in Florida. Those races, in traditionally deeply red congressional districts, were closer than expected.
The state Supreme Court race, technically a nonpartisan election, easily set a spending record for a U.S. judicial contest. It became heavily nationalized and served as the first major electoral test of Trump’s second presidency.
Wisconsin awarded Trump his narrowest state margin in November, and the race was closely watched for how swing state voters have digested the 10 weeks since his inauguration, as well as whether Musk would be a political asset or liability for Republicans moving forward.
The victory by liberal Judge Susan Crawford suggested pushback against Trump and Musk and will provide national energy for Democrats who have struggled to find a successful message to counter the president.
Her win over conservative Judge Brad Schimel, which the Associated Press called a bit more than an hour after the polls closed, means the court will keep its 4-3 liberal majority.
That will weigh heavily on the fate of abortion rights and union organizing in the state. It could also impact boundary maps for two GOP-held congressional districts that Democrats would like to challenge that could be critical to the party’s efforts to win control of the House of Representatives in 2026.