Liberal wins Wisconsin Supreme Court election in setback for Trump, Musk

Wisconsin voters elected Susan Crawford to the state Supreme Court on Tuesday, maintaining the court's 4-3 liberal majority in a setback for President Donald Trump and his billionaire ally Elon Musk, who had backed her conservative rival.

The election was widely seen as an early referendum on Trump's presidency, and the campaign easily became the most expensive judicial contest in US history with more than $90m (R1.6bn) spent by the candidates, state parties and outside groups, according to New York University's Brennan Center.

Crawford, a county judge, defeated conservative Brad Schimel, a former Republican state attorney-general and also a county judge, who conceded in a phone call to Crawford and in a speech before his supporters. With 75% of the vote counted, Crawford held a lead of 55% to 45%, a difference of about 178,000 votes.

With the balance of the court at stake, Musk and political groups tied to him spent more than $21m (R388m) to support Schimel. Crawford framed the race as a contest between her and the out-of-state billionaire.

“As a little girl growing up in Chippewa Falls, I never could have imagined I'd be taking on the richest man in the world for justice and Wisconsin. And we won,” Crawford told supporters at a celebration in Madison, the state capital.

In another test of Trump's popularity, two Florida Republicans won their special elections to fill US House vacancies created by Trump's cabinet picks.

The victories give Republicans a House majority of 220-213.

Republicans had been expected to easily hold the two seats, so the parties were watching to see how close the Democrats might come.

In one district that includes Daytona Beach, Republican state senator Randy Fine defeated Democrat Josh Weil, a public school educator. Fine was up around 14 points after Michael Waltz, Trump's national security adviser, won the seat by 33 points in November.

In the other race around Pensacola, Republican state CFO Jimmy Patronis defeated Democrat Gay Valimont, a gun violence prevention activist. Patronis was up nearly 15 points after Valimont had lost the seat to Matt Gaetz, once Trump's nominee for attorney-general, by 32 points in November.

Wisconsin's top court is likely to issue critical rulings on voting rights and election rules ahead of the 2026 midterms and the 2028 presidential race, when the state is expected to remain a central battleground. Trump won Wisconsin in November by less than a percentage point, the closest margin of any state.

The court is also poised to decide whether abortion rights should remain legal statewide and could revisit a Republican-backed law that stripped most public employee unions of collective bargaining rights.

Musk, whose department of government efficiency is overseeing Trump's unprecedented cost-cutting campaign at the federal government, became a central figure in the race. He held a rally on Sunday night where his main super political action committee handed $1m (R18.4m) cheques to two voters.

Wisconsin's Democratic attorney-general, Josh Kaul, sued to block the payments, arguing they violated a state anti-bribery law. The state Supreme Court declined to take up the case without comment shortly before Sunday's event.

Musk, who spent more than $250m (R4.6bn) to help Trump win the election in November, also promised to pay volunteers $20 (R370) for every voter they recruited before the election. On Tuesday he offered $100 (R1,847) to voters to upload a photo of anyone holding a picture of Schimel while gesturing thumbs up.

The Tesla CEO had said “the future of Western civilisation” is at stake because the court may potentially rule on redistricting or redrawing political maps. Redistricting could tip the balance between Republicans and Democrats in a closely divided US House of Representatives, affecting Trump's ability to govern.

Democrats had sought to highlight Musk's involvement, with Crawford's supporters emphasising Musk may have a personal stake in the outcome. Tesla sued the state in January over a law barring car manufacturers from opening dealerships, a case that could eventually come before the state Supreme Court.

Musk did not respond to a request for comment about accusations he has a personal interest in the election's outcome.

Crawford's campaign had received a boost from billionaire Democratic megadonors, including philanthropist George Soros and Illinois governor JB Pritzker.

Reuters