Trump endorses Schimel in high-stakes Wisconsin Supreme Court race

President Trump became the highest profile politician to weigh in on the Wisconsin Supreme Court race late Friday, urging his supporters to back conservative candidate Brad Schimel.

Trump in a late Friday post attacked “Radical Left Liberal Susan Crawford” — the liberal judicial candidate running against Schimel for an open seat on Wisconsin's highest court — and attacked her record on sentencing criminals and abusers.

“She is the handpicked voice of the Leftists who are out to destroy your State, and our Country — And if she wins, the Movement to restore our Nation will bypass Wisconsin," he wrote in a post on Truth Social. "All Voters who believe in Common Sense should GET OUT TO VOTE EARLY for Brad Schimel."

He also included a link to a website that encouraged voters to “swamp the vote” and laid out the timeline for requesting absentee and mail ballots and in-person voting for the April 1 election.

Crawford and Schimel are competing to replace outgoing liberal Justice Ann Walsh Bradley. The state Supreme Court has a 5-4 liberal majority with Bradley, but her retirement brings the court to an even partisan split.

Tens of millions of dollars have been poured into the race, easily surpassing the record set in 2023, the last time there was an open seat on the state Supreme Court that also determined partisan control of the court.

Crawford defended her handling of sentencing, including one case mentioned during a debate between her and Schimel earlier this month involving a defendant who was convicted of sexual assault of a child. Asked if she regretted her decision to offer a lower sentence than one recommended by prosecutors, she said during the debate “I don't regret that sentence because I followed the law in that case.”

Her campaign attacked Schimel in a statement responding to Trump’s Truth Social post, targeting him over his handling of the rape test kit backlog when he was Wisconsin attorney general and for making a plea deal with a defendant whose attorney had contributed to Schimel’s campaign.

Schimel has previously defended his handling of the rape test kit backlog, calling it a “capacity question” and noting they were able to expedite rape kit testing during his time as the state's top prosecutor when three labs agreed to help test the kits.

The conservative candidate has also said campaign contributions he received from a defendant’s lawyer did not pose a conflict of an interest and that he receives donations from many attorneys. He told WPR in a statement in January that “there’s nothing about this that has resulted in anything underhanded.”

“Schimel has spent his entire career on bent knee to right-wing special interests, we assumed he had this endorsement locked up months ago,” Crawford campaign spokesperson Derrick Honeyman said in part of his statement, adding that voters would “reject” Schimel on April 1.

Her campaign has also invoked tech billionaire Elon Musk's support for Schimel in ads targeting Crawford's GOP challenger.

Topics

Brad Schimel, a Trump Loyalist, Aims to Flip Wisconsin’s Supreme Court

Brad Schimel, a judge who is so supportive of the president that he dressed up as him for Halloween, is hoping to flip the Wisconsin Supreme Court for conservatives.
The New York Times - Mar. 13
Crawford airs new ad tying Schimel to Musk in Wisconsin Supreme Court race

Liberal candidate Susan Crawford’s campaign is up with a new ad tying conservative candidate Brad Schimel to Elon Musk in the high-stakes Wisconsin Supreme Court race. “How corrupt is Brad Schimel? ...
The Hill - 3d
Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates to debate about Trump, Musk and key issues

A closely watched Wisconsin Supreme Court election takes center stage as Republican-backed Brad Schimel and Democratic-backed Susan Crawford are set to debate.
ABC News - Mar. 12
Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates spar on abortion law, Musk, Trump during debate

Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates Brad Schimel and Susan Crawford sparred over abortion law, as well as Elon Musk, during a debate.
ABC News - Mar. 13
5 takeaways from the feisty Wisconsin Supreme Court debate

Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates Susan Crawford and Brad Schimel traded barbs and defended their track records on Wednesday night during their only debate for an open seat on the high court. ...
The Hill - Mar. 13
Elon Musk, George Soros eye Wisconsin Supreme Court race

The Wisconsin Supreme Court race has quickly become a battle of many billionaires, with the ideologically conservative candidate backed by a PAC connected to Elon Musk and the ideologically liberal ...
CBS News - Mar. 11
Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates to square off

Candidates in a race that will determine ideological control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court will square off in their only scheduled debate before the April 1 election
ABC News - Mar. 12
Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates spar over abortion rights and influence of Elon Musk and George Soros

In their only debate before next month's election, Susan Crawford and Brad Schimel traded barbs over mega-donors Soros and Musk and their involvement in the race.
NBC News - Mar. 13
Trump says Supreme Court justices 'get weak' in lambasting unfavorable coverage

President Trump on Friday lamented that Supreme Court Justices “can’t really fight back” and “get weak” in the face of unfavorable media coverage as he railed against what he framed as "horrible" ...
The Hill - Mar. 14