The Trump-Musk oligarchy suffered a sharp rebuke at the ballot box in Wisconsin’s Supreme Court race, where Musk’s record $25+ million campaign spending bought him a dramatic 10 point loss, while in Florida two special elections in the House saw swings of 16 and 22 points away from the Republicans since November. In addition to his traditional campaign donations, Musk gave money directly to voters, in clear violation of Wisconsin election laws.
“As a little girl growing up in Chippewa Falls, I never could have imagined that I’d be taking on the richest man in the world for justice in Wisconsin, and we won!” Dane County circuit judge Susan Crawford said in her victory speech. “Today Wisconsinites fended off an unprecedented attack on our democracy, our fair elections and our Supreme Court, and Wisconsin stood up and said proudly that justice does not have a price. Our courts are not for sale.”
Crawford’s election retains a 4-3 progressive majority on the court, which is expected to rule on an 1849 abortion law as well as a controversial public sector labor law. About $90 million was spent on the election, vastly more than the $50 million spent on the 2023 election, which ended 15 years of a conservative majority, which in turn rubber-stamped an extreme GOP gerrymander that ensured minority rule. Before that, $15 million had been the most ever spent on a state judicial election.
With 98.1% of votes counted, Crawford held a 10-point lead, over Republican Brad Schimel, a former state attorney general, in a state that Trump won by .86% in November. Every county in the state shifted significantly in the Democrat’s direction. And although they failed to win either special election in Florida, the shifts in their direction were even larger, a result that’s sure to significantly worry House Republicans who won election by single digits in November.
— Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor