BELLEVUE, Wisconsin — A quiet courtroom seat in Wisconsin has turned into a thunderous political battleground, becoming a proxy war for national power players—where a single vote could shape America’s future.
On April 1, voters in Wisconsin will decide who claims an open spot on the state’s Supreme Court. On the surface, it’s a nonpartisan judicial race. In reality, it’s an ideological slugfest: conservative Brad Schimel vs. liberal Susan Crawford. Behind the curtain? Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and more than $81 million in campaign cash, shattering every judicial election record in the books.
The stakes? Everything from abortion rights and union protections to redistricting and voting rules that could define the 2026 midterms and the 2028 presidential election. Wisconsin, a notorious political swing state, is once again in the eye of a hurricane.
Schimel, a former Republican state attorney general and staunch Trump ally, has benefited massively from the conservative war chest. Two Musk-linked super PACs have poured $17.5 million into his corner, and Musk himself cut a $2 million check to the state GOP—money that largely flowed straight to Schimel’s campaign.
That’s not all. Musk’s America PAC even dangled $100 gift cards to Wisconsinites willing to sign petitions opposing “activist judges”—a strategy echoing similar campaigns where randomly selected participants walked away with cash prizes for their political engagement.
During a recent livestream with Schimel on X (formerly Twitter), Musk warned about a potential liberal shift on the court, expressing fears of a redrawn congressional map that could hand control of the U.S. House to Democrats. “Then we won’t be able to get through the changes the American people want,” Musk declared.
Meanwhile, Crawford isn’t shying away from the confrontation. She’s accused Musk and Trump of trying to build a bench of loyal judges who won’t stand in their way. “I think he wants judges he can control,” she said of Trump. “And he has found one in Brad Schimel.”
Schimel brushed off those claims, saying he welcomes outside support but owes nothing to anyone. “I’ve made no promises to any of them,” he said. “The only promise I’ve made is to follow the law.”
The avalanche of money has triggered accusations from both sides. Democrats warn of a creeping plutocracy, where Musk’s billions buy seats from the courthouse to the Capitol. Republicans, in turn, cry foul over support for Crawford from liberal megadonors like George Soros.
The ideological control of Wisconsin’s seven-member court hangs in the balance. With conservative and liberal blocs tied, this race will tip the scale.
And the court’s docket? It’s no snoozer. It’s set to rule on the state’s 1849 abortion ban, the future of collective bargaining rights gutted by a 2011 law, and potentially, new political maps that could redraw the battlefield for years to come.
This isn’t just a court seat. It’s a pressure point on the future of democracy—and everyone from the world’s richest man to a former president is pressing down, hard.
