Democrats across the country celebrated after the liberal-leaning candidate won a high-profile election on Tuesday for a seat on Wisconsin’s Supreme Court, protecting the liberal majority on the bench.
Dane County Circuit Court Judge Susan Crawford defeated conservative-leaning Brad Schimel, a former state attorney general who currently serves as a state circuit court judge in Waukesha County. Schimel was endorsed by President Donald Trump, and the president’s billionaire senior advisor, Elon Musk, spent millions of dollars to oppose Crawford’s candidacy.
After a massive infusion of money from Democrat-aligned and Republican-aligned groups from outside Wisconsin, which turned the race into the most expensive judicial election in the nation’s history, the election partially transformed into a referendum on Trump’s action during the early months of his second term in the White House.
Following Crawford’s victory, Democrats said voters in Wisconsin, a battleground state, sent a clear message to reject Trump, Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency — which is led by Musk — as well as the Republican Party’s agenda.
LIBERAL WINS FIRST MAJOR 2025 STATEWIDE BATTLEGROUND ELECTION IN RACE TURNED INTO TRUMP-MUSK REFERENDUM
Dane County Circuit Court Judge Susan Crawford defeated Trump-endorsed Brad Schimel for a seat on Wisconsin’s Supreme Court. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers wrote: “Wisconsinites proved we will not be bought — not by the richest or most powerful people in the world or anyone else.”
Musk had handed out $1 million checks at a rally in Green Bay on Sunday evening to two Wisconsin voters who had already cast ballots in the contest and had signed a petition to stop “activist judges.” Wisconsin’s Democrat state attorney general sued to block the payments, but the state Supreme Court refused to weigh in.
“This election was about the resilience of the Wisconsin and American values that define and unite us,” Wisconsin’s governor…
