MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Democratic-backed candidate in a race that will determine whether liberals maintain their majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court decried Elon Musk's involvement, saying Tuesday that the world's wealthiest man was “trying to buy a seat on our Supreme Court."
A political action committee created by Musk, a close adviser to President Donald Trump, has spent $1 million on the Wisconsin Supreme Court contest so far. A conservative nonprofit that Musk has contributed to in the past, Building America's Future, has spent $1.6 million on television ads attacking the liberal candidate.
Musk is backing Brad Schimel, a Waukesha County judge who previously served as the state's attorney general and is a longtime Trump supporter. Schimel attended Trump's inauguration last month.
Schimel faces Susan Crawford, a Dane County judge who is backed by the Wisconsin Democratic Party and Democratic megadonors including philanthropist George Soros.
The April 1 election could be the most significant U.S. election since November, as it will serve as an early litmus test for Republicans and Democrats after Trump won every swing state, including Wisconsin, and as the start to his second term is sending shockwaves across the country.
The outcome will also determine whether the Wisconsin Supreme Court retains its liberal majority, with major cases dealing with abortion, union rights, election law and congressional redistricting already pending with the court or expected to be argued before it soon.
“Elon Musk is trying to buy a seat on our Supreme Court so Brad Schimel can rubber stamp his extreme agenda,” Crawford said at a meeting of the Wisconsin Counties Association. Schimel is slated to address the group on Wednesday.
Musk’s America PAC reported last week that it was spending $1 million on canvassing and field operations in the Wisconsin race. One of its flyers has an image of Trump saying he “needs you to get out and vote on April 1 for the Wisconsin Supreme Court.” The flyer encourages voting “to stop liberal judges from blocking President Trump’s agenda.”
″Brad Schimel welcomes Elon Musk’s involvement and Musk’s organization is now going door to door with paid canvassers handing out flyers that say that Brad has got to be on the Supreme Court to protect the Trump agenda," Crawford told reporters Tuesday. “We don’t need that kind of politics on our Supreme Court.”
Tesla, the electric car company owned by Musk, filed a lawsuit in January challenging the state's decision blocking it from opening dealerships in Wisconsin. That case could ultimately be decided by the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Crawford said she thinks Musk has gotten involved in the race in case lawsuits affecting Trump’s agenda play out at the state level.
“Elon Musk seems to be in the process of dismantling the federal government right now and is Donald Trump’s right-hand person,” Crawford said, referring to Musk’s work overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency. “I think the fact that he is so closely tied to the president and the president’s agenda should be really concerning.”
Schimel spokesperson Jacob Fischer said in response that Crawford “is spiraling and her campaign is flailing” as she tries to cover up her past work as an attorney challenging the state’s voter ID requirement and a law that effectively ended collective bargaining rights for most public workers.
He also noted that Soros has spent $1 million to benefit her campaign.
Crawford argued that there was a difference between Musk backing Schimel and her campaign receiving support from a wide array of Democratic megadonors, including Soros and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. Crawford said she has “never made any promises” to her donors and has not been personally soliciting for contributions in the same way that Schimel has.
Crawford pointed to endorsements she's received from more than 175 current and retired judges, court commissioners and state Supreme Court justices to back up her claim to be the only nonpartisan candidate in the race. All four of the Wisconsin Supreme Court's current liberal justices, and one former liberal justice, have endorsed Crawford.
Scott Bauer, The Associated Press
