Musk flexes political muscle in Wisconsin Supreme Court race

Elon Musk is flexing his political muscle in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race in an effort to tip the scales in favor of the conservative candidate.

The tech billionaire, who has emerged as a key force in President Trump’s administration as the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), threw his support behind candidate Brad Schimel last month. And just last week, a financial statement was made public revealing his America PAC spent $1 million in the race.

Another group called Building America’s Future, which has received funding from Musk in the past, also waded into the race with a pricey TV ad campaign. Musk's involvement underscores both his growing political influence outside the Beltway and the high stakes of the Wisconsin Supreme Court in particular, as it could alter the ideological makeup of the top court in a key swing state.

There are “a lot more eyeballs on the race if Elon Musk is putting his finger on it, because he’s so ubiquitous right now in America,” Republican strategist and Trump campaign alum Brian Seitchik told The Hill.

Trump has notably not issued an endorsement for Schimel, though Musk’s involvement might be the closest next thing, Seitchik suggested.

“Musk serves as a dye marker for Donald Trump. At this point, Musk’s involvement implies a blessing from the MAGA movement,” he said, adding, “If you don’t know much about a race, but you know Elon Musk is involved, the side he’s with is probably the MAGA side.”

Wisconsin is bracing for a competitive special election on April 1 as liberal Susan Crawford and Schimel vie for an open seat on the state Supreme Court to replace outgoing liberal Justice Ann Walsh Bradley. Whoever wins the spring race will determine whether the court retains a liberal majority or flips conservative.

Though endorsements and outside spending in Wisconsin Supreme Court races are not new — the 2023 race for an open seat on the court saw tens of millions of dollars in spending, with national groups on both sides wading in — Musk’s involvement in this latest race is particularly noteworthy.

Musk’s America PAC has already spent $1 million on canvassing and field operations to support Schimel, according to a state campaign filing. The dark money group Building America’s Future, which The Wall Street Journal noted has previously received money from Musk, is spending $1.6 million alone on a TV ad buy opposing Crawford.

Musk himself has been vocal about the race, urging his nearly 219 million followers last month to support Schimel.

“Very important to vote Republican for the Wisconsin Supreme Court to prevent voting fraud!” he wrote on the social platform X in January.

A spokesperson for Building America’s Future and America PAC declined to elaborate on the groups’ spending.

Some GOP strategists suggest it is Musk’s status as the world’s richest person that carries the most sway and instills confidence in smaller donors.

“It might not matter to the average voter that’s living outside of Madison right now who’s thinking about who to vote for, but it could be potentially useful for the candidate, especially in fundraising, because Elon’s got a lot of money,” Republican strategist Chris Johnson told The Hill.

“People want to give money to things that already have money. So, if you’re seeing somebody get support from Elon, that might bring in a ton of small-dollar donations.”

The race marks this year’s first major contest involving Musk, underscoring the newfound influence and power the Tesla CEO has found within the GOP as one of Trump’s fiercest allies.

Musk, who dished out at least $250 million for Trump’s reelection, hinted last year America PAC would continue working to support Republicans through midterm elections and primary contests.

Musk has potential stakes in the state Supreme Court race, himself amid pending litigation over whether Tesla dealerships will be allowed to open in the state, though it’s not clear that issue will reach the high court.

Asked about Musk’s recent involvement in the race during a Marquette Law School forum, Schimel said, “There is no outside influence. I appreciate anybody that will help me get my message out there, because it's hard to reach all the voters in Wisconsin.” He also noted liberal players such as George Soros and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) were also getting involved.

Meanwhile, Crawford’s campaign has used Musk’s involvement to target Schimel, with the candidate saying in a statement that “Elon Musk and other right-wing billionaires are pouring money into this race because they can bank on Brad Schimel to protect their corporate dominance, restrict reproductive freedoms, and take our state backward at the expense of ordinary Wisconsinites.”

Musk’s high level of visibility, however, could take away from the candidates’ platforms themselves, Seitchik argued. The tech billionaire typically uses X to broadcast his views on politics, often stirring up headlines with a single post.

“If so much attention is focused on Musk and his spending, then the candidates’ various positions get less emphasis and it becomes the person Musk is supporting is in the ‘Musk-Republican-Trump box’ and the other person is in the Democrats’ box,” Seitchik said. “And that does deemphasize some of the key issue differences that go on in a race.”

At the same time, Musk is not the only player getting involved in the race. Groups including A Better Wisconsin Together Political Fund and Swing Left are assisting with online advertising, fundraising and mobilizing volunteers.

The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) is also adding the Wisconsin race and Pennsylvania’s judicial retention races to its 2025-26 target map, an announcement first shared with The Hill.

“The DLCC is announcing this race on our target map because we can’t allow an influx of outside spending from MAGA billionaires to undermine the will of voters,” DLCC spokesperson Sam Paisley said in a statement to The Hill.

Other outside GOP groups are also getting involved, including the Republican State Leadership Committee's Judicial Fairness Initiative (RSLC-JFI), which announced a proposed $2 million in spending in the race Monday. The House Freedom Caucus’s campaign arm is also airing its own ads.

“The stakes in Wisconsin have never been higher,” RSLC-JFI President Edith Jorge-Tuñón said in a statement. “If Susan Crawford wins a seat on the high court in Madison, the far-left majority will undoubtedly endorse the lenient, soft-on-crime policies that have been pushed by liberals for far too long.”

The candidates themselves are not without controversy as fundraising heats up in the race. Schimel campaign spokesperson Jacob Fischer in a statement accused Crawford of “offering two congressional seats” to Democratic donors following reporting that she had been included on a donor advisers briefing, with the subject line of the email reading “Time-sensitive: Chance to put two more House seats in play for 2026.”

“Susan Crawford has nationalized this race on her own,” Fischer added.

Crawford’s team has defended Crawford’s appearance on the call, with spokesperson Derrick Honeyman noting in a statement that she “has not publicly or privately commented on congressional redistricting at any time and was on this call briefly to share her background and why she’s running.”

Honeyman hit Schimel over the fact that he’s reportedly joked about needing knee pads in begging donors to contribute to his campaign and noted Schimel “is the only candidate in this race who has run for partisan office before.”

Topics

Supreme Court unanimously sides with Hungary in Holocaust survivors’ lawsuit

The Supreme Court unanimously sided with Hungary on Friday by rejecting a group of Holocaust survivors’ legal theory that sought to haul the country into American courts to pay compensation. The ...
The Hill - 3d
Supreme Court Rejects Holocaust Survivors’ Suit Against Hungary

The justices unanimously ruled that the plaintiffs had not established a connection to the United States required by the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.
The New York Times - 3d
Supreme Court tackles straight woman’s 'reverse' discrimination case

The Supreme Court will hear the case of Marlean Ames, a straight woman who said she was denied a promotion and demoted in favor of two people who are gay.
NBC News - 3d
Supreme Court declines to intervene for now in bid to fire whistleblower office chief

President Trump removed Hampton Dellinger from his position as special counsel on Feb. 7, but a federal judge ordered him to be reinstated for a short period.
CBS News - 3d
Supreme Court stiffs Trump, punts on firing whistleblower agency head

The Supreme Court stiffed President Trump in his administration’s first high court appeal by punting Friday on a request to greenlight the firing of the head of a whistleblower protection office. ...
The Hill - 3d
Supreme Court Rejects, for Now, Trump’s Bid to Fire Government Watchdog

The court’s order indicated that it may return to the issue as soon as next week, when a trial judge’s temporary restraining order is set to expire.
The New York Times - 3d
An Important Judicial Tool Mysteriously Goes Missing at the Supreme Court

The justices have all but stopped issuing summary reversals, which are unsigned decisions used to correct clear errors by lower courts.
The New York Times - 17h
Supreme Court schedules arguments in case where Trump administration is defending ACA

The Supreme Court on Monday scheduled arguments for April 21 in a case that could decide the legality of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) requirement that insurers cover certain preventive ...
The Hill - 4h
Musk's email ultimatum leads to mixed messages: From the Politics Desk

Federal employees started another work week receiving mixed messages from the top after Elon Musk's weekend email ultimatum.
NBC News - 4h