Wisconsin supreme court race: liberal Susan Crawford beats Musk-backed candidate

Liberal judge says victory is against ‘unprecedented attack on our democracy’ after defeating Brad Schimel in the most expensive judicial election in US history

Susan Crawford won the race for a seat on the Wisconsin supreme court on Tuesday, scoring a major victory for Democrats who had framed the race as a referendum on Elon Musk and Donald Trump’s popularity.

Crawford, a liberal judge from Dane county, defeated Brad Schimel, a former Republican attorney general and conservative judge from Waukesha county, after Musk and groups associated with the tech billionaire spent millions to boost his candidacy in what became the most expensive judicial contest in American history.