The liberal candidate for the pivotal seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court reported Tuesday on expenditure from Elon Musk in a contest that overcame a $25 million spending, becoming a kind of referendum on Musk and his federal cuts.
With such high voter turnout in the spring elections off the off year, Judge Susan Crawford helped Justice Brad Simmell, who was loyal to President Trump and was supported by the president's billionaire policy aide, Musk.
Not only did Musk pour money into the race, he also worked personally in the state and wore cheese heads. However, his starring role seemed to burn even more democratic anger towards him than he helped Justice Shimmel.
A barrage of spending in races could almost double the record before a single judicial election. Judge Crawford held a lead of about nine points as about 95% of the vote counted on Tuesday evening.
“Today, Wisconsinians dodged unprecedented attacks on our democracy, fair elections and the Supreme Court,” she said in her victory speech Tuesday night. “Wisconsin stood up and yelled that justice has no price. Our courts are not for sale.”
For Democrats, the outcome is a shock of momentum. They have been engaged in rhetorical promotions from the shore of clothing to the coast since Trump returned to the White House in January, drastically scaling federal agencies, putting aside international alliances, and embarking on Musk in an effort to change government relations with the country's universities, minorities, immigration and corporate worlds.
Comes shortly after Democrats' victory in special elections in Iowa and Pennsylvania state assembly seats, and with the loss of a four-state referendum backed by Republicans in Louisiana, Judge Crawford's victory marks the party's first paw since November last year. Her victory showed that, at least in one instance, Musk's seemingly endless reserves of political cash energised more Democrats than Republicans.
The race could also affect the control of the Congress. In Congress, the thin edge of the Republican razor was bolstered when he won two Florida seats in a special election on Tuesday. Democrats quietly argued that Crawford's victory would pave the way for the liberal tilted Wisconsin Supreme Court to order a new map of Congress.
Dane County Judge Crawford himself attended a meeting with liberal donors in January. And Musk's Republicans have sought to create a central focus in a campaign to beat that possibility.
Musk explains the stakes of the contest on apocalyptic terms, and appears to personify the campaign more than the candidates themselves in place of Judge Simel. Until now, no one donor has attempted to influence American judicial races to such extent, and few have invested equal amounts in elections that they themselves have not run. Through Super PAC, Musk has taken on a $11.5 million ground game targeting voters with a message urging him to help Judge Simel. Another organisation with Musk's bond spent $7.7 million on television ads, according to media tracking company Adimpact.
Musk also provided $100 each Wisconsinite to sign petitions against the “activist judge.”
By Tuesday, his super PAC had offered $50 to voters $50 to post pictures of Wisconsin residents outside the polling station.
The victory of Judge Crawford, 60, who won a 10-year term, maintains a 4-3 majority in the court's Liberal Party. It may soon determine the legality of the line of state legislative districts drawn by Republican-controlled state legislatures.
The Liberal Party is likely to maintain the court majority until at least 2028. Over the next two years, the court's conservative justice is facing re-election. Unless liberal justice opens her seat and replaces the governor, conservatives will not be able to flip her seat until 2028.
With control of the court, officially nonpartisan elections will always be expensive and fierce battles, but Musk's investment, which began in mid-February, has supercharged the interests, caution and cash flowing into the state. The billionaire involvement that electric vehicle company Tesla sued Wisconsin in January sued Wisconsin for the right to open dealers in the state, turning what was once a national contest into something that would bring Democrats closer to national bat signals to support Justice Crawford.
“It's a test, and the whole world is watching,” Wisconsin Democrats chair Ben Wickler told supporters at Judge Crawford's Crowing Grally on Monday. “This is a chance to show that we still believe in democracy because we are so frightening nationwide.. ”
Following visits from prominent liberals and Democrats, including the Wisconsin Democrats and Democratic National Committee, including Minnesota Governor and Minnesota Sen. Bernie Sanders and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Judge Crawford has ended March 17th and has become the nation's prime minister, among his fortunes serving as national prime minister.
Judge Shimmel, 60, of Waukesha County, a longtime Trump loyalist who dressed Trump on Halloween last year, accepted the president and Musk in Gusto in the final weeks of the campaign. He wears the president's signature to make America attractive again against the suspension of the campaign, showing up in a live stream with Trump and Musk in late March.
Wisconsin Republicans kept their efforts to create Justice Shimmel, who served for a one-time state attorney general before losing re-election in 2018, Trump movement avatar in 2018. Wisconsin Republican Party Chairman Brian Simming said his goal is to become Judge Simel by Tuesday, winning 60% of Trump's voters since last November.
Justice Simel, like Justice Crawford, framed the race as an existential threat to the nation and the nation.
“If we don't restore the court, our Republic won't survive, right?” he told supporters last week at a rally in Stoughton, Wisconsin.
Musk launched a campaign on behalf of Judge Simmell, which frequently derailed the contest at hand.
On Sunday night he traveled to Green Bay, where he brought a million dollar check to voters and winners of the contest among those who signed his petition. It just so happens to be the chairman of a Wisconsin University Republican, Musk's super PAC joined a third party a few days ago with a $1 million check.
But Musk spent just minutes on his two-hour remarks addressing Judge Simel on his upcoming election. Met out as an unedited TED talk, Musk shared an expanded monologue about immigration policy, fraud in the social security system, and the future of artificial intelligence from an audience who are not even competing in court.
When Musk dealt with the reasons for his visit, he framed the election in the most important terms.
“What's happening on Tuesday is the party's vote to control the U.S. House of Representatives, which is why it's so important,” Musk said. “And the party that has a great deal of control over which party controls the country, and that pilots the course of Western civilization. I think this is one of those things you might not think will affect the entire fate of humanity, but I think it will.”
Wisconsin Democrats, who are tied up by Judge Crawford's campaign, have found the entire episode to be confused. Musk was popular with conservative voters because of his relationship with Trump, but he didn't even emphasize public safety or affinity with the president. An issue that Democrats believed could help Simel Sway Republicans vote.
Instead, they believed that it was the latest evidence that he was one general candidate who could really drive Trump to win.
Jess Bidgood Contributed with a report from Stoughton, Wisconsin.
