{"id":2445,"date":"2025-04-02T06:06:05","date_gmt":"2025-04-02T06:06:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=2445"},"modified":"2025-04-02T06:06:05","modified_gmt":"2025-04-02T06:06:05","slug":"susan-crawford-defeats-elon-musk-backed-candidate-in-us-wisconsin-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=2445","title":{"rendered":"Susan Crawford defeats Elon Musk-backed candidate in US wisconsin race"},"content":{"rendered":"
Susan Crawford, the Democratic-backed candidate for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, secured a decisive victory on Tuesday, defeating Republican-backed Brad Schimel in a race that set records for spending and voter turnout. Her win cements a liberal majority on the court for at least three more years.<\/p>\n

Crawford, a Dane County judge known for her legal battles in support of union rights, abortion access, and opposition to voter ID laws, celebrated her victory alongside the court\u2019s four current liberal justices. She framed her triumph as a win for democracy, taking aim at billionaire Elon Musk, who had invested heavily in Schimel\u2019s campaign.<\/p>\n

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\u201cGrowing up in Chippewa Falls, I never could have imagined that I would be taking on the richest man in the world for justice in Wisconsin,\u201d Crawford said. \u201cAnd we won.\u201d<\/p>\n

Musk and affiliated groups spent over $21 million in an attempt to defeat Crawford, with Musk personally delivering $1 million checks to two voters just days before the election. However, Crawford\u2019s campaign overcame the opposition, with her victory speech emphasizing resistance to outside influence in Wisconsin\u2019s judiciary.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, Wisconsinites fended off an unprecedented attack on our democracy, our fair elections, and our Supreme Court,\u201d Crawford declared. \u201cAnd Wisconsin stood up and said loudly that justice does not have a price, our courts are not for sale.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Race of National Significance<\/p>\n

Crawford\u2019s win comes in a highly scrutinized election seen as an early test of political sentiment under President Donald Trump\u2019s administration. With the Wisconsin Supreme Court holding power over election laws and congressional redistricting, both Democrats and Republicans viewed the outcome as critical.<\/p>\n

Turnout exceeded 52% of the voting-age population, surpassing the previous record of nearly 40% set in 2023. Spending in the race approached $100 million, making it the most expensive judicial election in US history.<\/p>\n

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A post shared by DaMon Cortez (@purpleroom_politics)<\/p>\n

Schimel, a former state attorney general, conceded defeat despite frustration among his supporters. At his election night party, one attendee shouted \u201cCheater, cheater!\u201d but Schimel urged calm.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to accept the results.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a unique display, Schimel played bass guitar with his classic rock cover band before and after his concession, performing songs from the Allman Brothers and Tom Petty.<\/p>\n

Abortion, Redistricting, and Judicial Independence<\/p>\n

Crawford\u2019s campaign was bolstered by endorsements from Planned Parenthood and other abortion rights advocates, while Schimel sought to position her as weak on crime and overly aligned with Democratic interests.<\/p>\n

Trump, Musk, and other prominent conservatives rallied behind Schimel, warning that a liberal-controlled court would redraw congressional maps to disadvantage Republicans and repeal a GOP-backed law that curtailed collective bargaining rights for public sector workers.<\/p>\n

Crawford, in turn, criticized Schimel\u2019s ties to Musk and Trump, at one point referring to him as \u201cElon Schimel\u201d during a debate.<\/p>\n

The Court\u2019s Future and National Implications<\/p>\n

With Crawford\u2019s win, the court remains under a 4-3 liberal majority, which will be secure until at least April 2028. The court is expected to weigh in on key issues including abortion, union rights, election rules, and congressional redistricting.<\/p>\n

Trump acknowledged the court\u2019s significance in a speech ahead of the election. \u201cWisconsin\u2019s a big state politically, and the Supreme Court has a lot to do with elections in Wisconsin,\u201d he said. \u201cWinning Wisconsin\u2019s a big deal, so therefore the Supreme Court choice \u2026 it\u2019s a big race.\u201d<\/p>\n

Musk remained silent on his social media platform X following the election, instead reposting unrelated content about Vietnam and trade tariffs. Trump, who endorsed Schimel just 11 days before the election, also did not immediately comment.<\/p>\n

Record-Breaking Spending and Influence<\/p>\n

This election shattered records as the most expensive state Supreme Court race in US history. Total spending neared $99 million, eclipsing the previous record of $51 million set in Wisconsin\u2019s 2023 judicial contest.<\/p>\n

Musk personally contributed $3 million to Schimel\u2019s campaign, with groups he funded adding another $18 million. Additionally, he distributed $1 million checks to three voters who signed a petition opposing \u201cactivist\u201d judges.<\/p>\n

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Crawford benefitted from campaign support<\/p>\n

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A post shared by Lincoln Square Media (@lincolnsquarehq)<\/p>\n

Democratic figures including former President Barack Obama and billionaire donors such as George Soros and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, last year\u2019s Democratic vice-presidential nominee, also campaigned for her in Wisconsin.<\/p>\n

Voter Perspectives<\/p>\n

At polling places across the state, voters expressed varied motivations for their choices.<\/p>\n

In Waunakee, Iraq War veteran Taylor Sullivan, 39, said he voted for Schimel because of his strong support for law enforcement. Meanwhile, in Milwaukee, college student Kenneth Gifford, 22, said he backed Crawford as a stand against Musk\u2019s financial influence in politics.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want an actual, respectable democracy,\u201d Gifford said.<\/p>\n

Crawford\u2019s victory solidifies the court\u2019s liberal majority, ensuring its influence on critical state issues for years to come.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Susan Crawford, the Democratic-backed candidate for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, secured a decisive victory on Tuesday, defeating Republican-backed Brad Schimel in a race that set records for spending and voter turnout. Her win cements a liberal majority on the court for at least three more years. Crawford, a Dane County judge known for her legal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2445"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2445\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}