Here is CNN.COM:
Wisconsin voters on Tuesday delivered Democrats their biggest boost since President Donald Trump returned to power, handing liberals a state Supreme Court majority and defying Elon Musk’s record-shattering effort to bolster a conservative Trump acolyte.
Liberal Susan Crawford defeated conservative Brad Schimel, winning a 10-year term and retaining the 4-3 liberal Supreme Court majority in a state bitterly divided between a Democratic governor and Republican legislature, where the nominally nonpartisan high court has often functioned as a third, tie-breaking partisan body.
The race was an early — but useful — gut check of the electorate in one of the nation’s marquee swing states more than two months into Trump’s second presidency….
Stakes were already high, with control over the Supreme Court in a critical presidential battleground on the line in Wisconsin.
Neither were on the ballot, but Badger State voters were weighing in on Trump (who won Wisconsin in 2016, lost it in 2020 and won it again in 2024, all by slim margins), Musk, and their performance so far.
But the race took on national significance when Trump endorsed Schimel, the conservative candidate, and Musk — the tech billionaire-turned-White House adviser — poured tens of millions of dollars into the race and traveled to the state himself.
“I never could have imagined that I’d be taking on the richest man in the world for justice in Wisconsin. And we won,” Crawford said at her victory party.
The outcome is certain to bolster the spirits of Democrats who are out of power and ideologically splintered after November’s losses. It’s also an ominous sign for Republicans who are entering a midterm election cycle without Trump on the ballot, and one that comes before the effects of Trump’s management of the economy — including tariffs — are fully felt.
Aided by Musk’s millions – along with infusions of cash from billionaires of both parties – the Wisconsin race quickly became the most expensive judicial contest in US history as both parties wrestled for control of the court’s majority in a key swing state.
But Wisconsin voters voted against Schimel, the candidate preferred by Trump and Musk.
Crawford and her allies worked to turn the election in a referendum on Trump and Musk, in particular. The tech billionaire, together with aligned groups, pumped some $20 million into the race and thrust himself into the center of the election with an appearance – complete with a foam cheesehead – at Sunday rally in Green Bay that Schimel himself skipped.
Trump endorsed Schimel in the final weeks of the campaigns, but did not stump on his behalf, and the result underscored the challenge Republicans faced in persuading voters who backed the president less than five months ago to turn out again for a judicial election in which he was not on the ballot.
“There’s about 200,000 voters who voted for Donald Trump last November, who just historically don’t vote in spring elections,” Scott Walker, the state’s former Republican governor, said on CNN after the race was called for Crawford Tuesday night.
With Crawford’s win, liberals will retain their 4-3 advantage on the high court and have final say on key issues looming before the justices, ranging from abortion to voting rules – and potentially – redrawing congressional maps that currently give Republicans in the state 6 out of 8 House seats.
Musk’s high-profile gamble – and loss – in Wisconsin raises questions about the effectiveness of his money and brand moving forward as he works to help Republicans next year attempt to buck the trend of the president’s party losing ground in the midterms.
The Tesla CEO has previously committed to send $100 million to support Trump-controlled political groups, a source familiar with the plans confirmed. And he recently donated directly to a clutch of House GOP members who have voiced support for impeaching judges who thwart Trump’s executive moves.
Democrats involved in House races say Musk’s role – and the controversy surrounding his effort to slash federal spending as part of the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency – will remain a focus in elections ahead. (Some ads from pro-Crawford groups featured images of Musk wielding a chainsaw this year at a gathering of conservative activists and sought to tie him to cuts to programs that benefit the poor and elderly.)
“He’s good foil,” a Democratic strategist involved in House races said of Musk. “Trump is a good foil in many ways, but at the end of the day, a lot of people voted for Trump. Nobody voted for Elon Musk and especially the outsized role he has played.”
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