The New York Times headline covers what's really at stake in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race.
"What’s More Powerful: Elon Musk’s Millions, or Liberal Anger at Him?"
The entire left-wing influence operation has been put in motion to discredit and ruin Elon Musk. They've sicced their astroturf mobs on his car dealerships. They've attacked him relentlessly for every cut, every firing he's recommended.
But Musk keeps coming. Indeed, his investment of millions of dollars in the pivotal Wisconsin Supreme Court race will prove whether the left is making any headway in its smear campaign against him or whether Musk will have the last laugh.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court race set for April 1 will demonstrate the breadth of Musk's influence. He and his affiliated groups have spent upward of $20 million, with another $2 million for a controversial program to offer $100 to those who sign a petition in opposition to “activist judges” and give their contact information on the petition. His plan to give $1 million each to two Wisconsin voters at a rally on Sunday was challenged in court by the state Attorney General Josh Kaul. The appeals court refused to hear the case.
“This is kind of a test case for Elon Musk,” said Dane County Judge Susan Crawford, a former prosecutor and the Democrat running against Waukesha County Judge Republican Brad Schimel. “He wants to make sure that nothing stands in the way of what he’s doing to try to dismantle the federal government.”
That hysterically exaggerated rhetoric is why Musk has a good shot of prevailing.
Musk has sued Wisconsin for refusing to allow Tesla dealerships into the state. Tesla and every other auto manufacturer are unable to sell directly to consumers and have to go through a third party. Musk doesn't like that and wants the right to open Tesla outlets.
The suit probably doesn't play a role in Musk's huge effort in the state.
So much money being spent in a state supreme court election would have been unthinkable even a decade ago. Wisconsin supreme court justices are elected to 10 year terms, and until recently the candidates had low profiles and few paid attention to the races. In a 2020 state supreme court race, both candidates spent a combined $10m.
But in recent years, awareness has grown of the powerful role state supreme courts can play in defining major issues, bringing more money and hard-nosed politics to these races. In North Carolina, a Republican candidate is seeking to overturn a supreme court election he lost to a Democratic candidate by 734 votes.
“What we’ve really seen in recent years is just how important state courts are in determining election law and how elections are run,” said Bryna Godar, a staff attorney at the state democracy research initiative at the University of Wisconsin law school.
Trump carried the state by just 30,000 votes in 2024 and Biden by even less in 2020. With $80 million spent by each side in the race and Elon Musk's high-profile role in the campaign, a judicial election has taken on an outsized role in the political life of the country.
“Everyone has an opinion on him,” said Rohn Bishop, the Republican mayor of Waupun, Wis. “He’s the talk of everything.”
Musk has become a lightning rod for the anger and dissatisfaction on the left, with liberals seeing him as the embodiment of conservative evil. While the stakes in Wisconsin are huge — abortion rights, redistricting, and public employee union bargaining — it's the immediate fate of the Trump administration and Elon Musk's influence that is occupying the attention of the chattering classes.
Musk won't go away if Republicans lose on Tuesday. But he will be diminished, given the spin that will come from the media and Democrats.
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