Elon Musk backing Republican candidate in Wisconsin Supreme Court race

By

February 19, 2025

Elon Musk was the largest donor in last year's election, shelling out over a quarter billion dollars to elect President Donald Trump and other Republican candidates.

Yet Musk's interests aren't limited to national politics, as he is also looking to shake up the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Musk-supported group has spent $1.5 million in state Supreme Court race

As Politico noted in an article published on Wednesday, Musk is a major backer of the group Building America’s Future, and it has spent $1.5 million in Wisconsin on behalf of state Attorney General Brad Schimel.

Although the Wisconsin Supreme Court is an officially nonpartisan body, Schimel is a Republican who enjoys support from conservatives.

He is squaring off against Democrat-aligned Circuit Court Judge Susan Crawford for an open seat on the state's highest judicial body.

In addition to boosting Schimel financially, Musk has also voiced support for the state attorney general on his X social media platform late last month.

Musk links state Supreme Court election race with need to stop voter fraud

Musk reacted to an earlier post put up by Republican activist Scott Pressler which recalled how the Wisconsin Supreme Court reinstated the use of absentee ballot drop boxes following the election of liberal Justice Janet Protasiewicz.

Very important to vote Republican for the Wisconsin Supreme Court to prevent voting fraud! https://t.co/tB1qErm2cP

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 23, 2025

"Very important to vote Republican for the Wisconsin Supreme Court to prevent voting fraud!" the billionaire told his followers on January 23.

Yasmin Radjy serves as executive director of the progressive group Swing Left, and she suggested that Musk's interest in the race is significant.

"It feels like a very clear sign that he knows what we know, which is that this is the most important election of the new Trump era," Politico quoted her as saying.

Schimel points out that Crawford is getting help from wealthy leftist donors

For her part, Crawford also drew attention to Musk's involvement in a social media post of her own on Tuesday, alleging that he "is buying off Brad Schimel."

However, Schimel campaign spokesperson Jacob Fischer countered that Crawford has received assistance from outside allies as well, including Democratic megadonor George Soros, liberal venture capitalist Reid Hoffman, and Illinois Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

"Susan Crawford has nationalized this race on her own, but we can’t control what happens outside of our campaign," Fischer said in a statement to Politico.