Judge Susan Crawford won a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Tuesday, beating President Trump-backed Justice Brad Schemmel, overcoming $25 million from Elon Musk in the race that became a referendum on billionaires and federal innovation. Her election could affect abortion and rights of work decisions.
Judge Crawford, 60, may not have been a nationally recognizable name by Tuesday, but this was not her first election. In 2018, she was elected Dane County Circuit Judge and won reelection in 2022.
Before becoming a judge, she worked for the Wisconsin Department of Justice, including the Attorney General.
In 2009, Gov. Jim Doyle appointed her as his top lawyer. She served until 2010. In that job, she led the Governor's Amnesty Advisory Committee.
In 2011, she joined private law firm Karen Weston Pines & Bach. Among the cases she tackled was a constitutional challenge to the state's voter ID law and a contractual dispute between the passenger train manufacturer and Wisconsin, according to the company now named Pines Bach. In 2013, she became a company partner.
Judge Crawford spoke in favor of abortion rights and was a public supporter of collective bargaining and voting rights.
Her campaign website promotes her time as a private practice lawyer when she “represented Wisconsin planning parents to protect votes and workers' rights and advocate for access to reproductive care.”
Judge Crawford lives in Madison, the state capital. She is married to Sean Peters, a scholar at the University of Wisconsin Madison University, and has two children.
