“I know Donald Trump said something bad,” Judge Simel said the voice in the crowd cried out, “Get over that!” He added: “I am the father of two daughters. My daughters respect me, and I don't like to hear everyone talk about women like that. But Donald Trump appoints a judge who defends our constitution and respects our constitution.”
Now, Judge Simel wants to maintain the energy of Pro-Trump, which helped the president carry the battlefield last fall, as he aims to bring the conservative majority back to court after the Wisconsin Liberal Party turned it over in 2023.
Following the path ignited by the Wisconsin Democrats, who successfully injected national politics into the state Supreme Court elections two years ago, Justice Simel is a candid supporter of Trump, campaigning in an ostensibly nonpartisan way.
Judge Simel reflected Trump's lies about the election, attended campaign rally and went door-to-door to encourage voters to support him during the April 1 election. Last fall, Judge Simel wore a Garbageman costume as Trump while waving what appeared to have played bass guitar with a pair of Maracas at a Halloween party, an episode filmed in a video obtained by the New York Times. And this month he told supporters he wanted to help build a “support network” around Trump.
“They are very desperate to make him not win and don't give America a victory,” Judge Simel said he mentioned Democrats and other Trump opponents at an event hosted by the conservative group Turning Point Action. “That's what they're doing. The only way we can stop is if the court stops it.”
Judge Simel, who declined to comment on this article, is clearly fishing for support from Trump, who could help him become a conservative Wisconsin voter. He recently spoke to supporters at a private event. The recording was obtained by The Times and said it officially called on the president to hold a campaign event in Wisconsin this month. He also said in a television interview he would welcome Trump's support.
But during a TV debate on Wednesday night, Judge Simel said if elected he would control Trump if he broke the law or had the merits of the lawsuit wrong. “I have no personal loyalty to him, so I took oath as a judge,” he said.
So far, Trump, who supported Wisconsin Supreme Court conservative candidate in 2020 and remained in the 2023 race, has not discussed pedestrians at this year's contest, according to anyone who described political involvement.
Millions of Musk dominate race
The Wisconsin Supreme Court is unfamiliar with Trump's politics and conspiracy theory. In 2020, he slightly rejected the president's efforts to overturn the state's election results.
In 2023, when Wisconsin's Liberal Party took control of the court for the first time in 15 years, they were driven by money and grassroots rage over the abolition of state abortion rights after overturning the US Supreme Court decision the previous summer.
But now Republicans are the ones who have the most money thanks to their $6.2 million and counting from Elon Musk's Super PAC. Democrats have found themselves defending to hold seats essential to the political strength of the nation.
Dane County Judge Susan Crawford, a liberal opponent of Judge Simmell, and Wisconsin Democrats, are focusing on Musk's spending. State Democrats have aired a TV ads linking Musk to Judge Simmell, and branding a series of town hall gatherings as “The Peoplev. Musk.” During Wednesday's debate, Judge Crawford called her partner “Elon Schimmel.”
Judge Crawford himself said last month that “I couldn't imagine fighting the wealthiest man in the world.” She generally refrains from making obvious political statements in favour of Democrats, but she said she supports abortion rights. In January, she also attended a meeting with Democratic donors that was touted as “an opportunity to play two more house sheets in 2026,” a reference to a potential lawsuit that challenges Wisconsin's Capitol map.
More than $59 million has already been spent on races when it comes to the most expensive judicial election in American history, surpassing the costs of the 2023 Wisconsin Supreme Court Contest, according to Wispolitics.com.
Musk's focus on supporting Justice Shimmel, not on supporting Trump's judges, reflects the president's continued popularity in the states that he has won two times in the last three presidential elections.
By framing the election as a battle with billionaire White House advisers, Democrats can draw attention to voter dislikes. A poll conducted by Marquette University Law School last month found that 97% of Democrats view Musk at a disadvantage.
“We're a sought-after,” said Ben Wickler, chairman of the Wisconsin Democrats. “There's White Hot's rage.”
Wisconsin Democrats have had an advantage in off-year and midterm elections in recent years. Their voters tend to be more familiar with political news than Republicans, and are more likely to vote in contests other than presidential elections.
At the same time, Musk's super PAC is targeting Trump voters with a clear message.
“President Trump needs your vote,” reads a direct email from the group to Wisconsin Republicans. “Liberal Susan Crawford will stop President Trump's agenda.”
Justice Simel's loyalty to Trump may help him, even if it energises the Democrats. Wisconsin Republican Party Chairman Brian Shimming said if Judge Simel can earn 60% of Trump's voters from November, he'll win.
“People who support Donald Trump need to know that this is not someone who is rigid about Trump,” said Walker, the former state governor. “We can't have anyone who has voted for Donald Trump this fall,” said Walker, a Republican.
Praise Trump and pretend to be him
Judge Simel's love for Trump has not disappeared since 2016. During the 2020 presidential election, he praised Trump at a campaign rally despite Wisconsin Judicial Ethics Rules that bar judges from participating in partisan political activities.
And for years, Judge Simel has repeated some of the points of Trump's story about the Wisconsin election.
In an interview with one of the state's leading conservative talk radio hosts in 2018, Judge Simel said it's not clear that if Trump, who carried the state with less than 23,000 votes in 2016, or Sen. Johnson, who won about 99,000 votes that year, had not been in place, the state's voter identification laws.
In January he said he did not oppose the pardon of Trump supporters who attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Then last year there was a Halloween party.
In the final week of the election, President Joseph R. Biden Jr. appeared to be calling Trump supporters “garbage.” Trump dressed up with a sanitary worker's reflective vest and drove a garbage truck to deal with it.
Two days later, when Judge Simel's cover band, the fourth floor cover band performed a Halloween gig at Michael's Funky Monkey Bar at Waukesha, he wobbled, wearing a reflective vest like Mr. Trump, playing the Rolling Stones' classic “Devil of Pity.”
Nick Corasanity Reports of contributions.
