Elon Musk and George Soros aren't on the ballot in Wisconsin on April 1, but the two best-known billionaires from the right and left are certainly issues in the nationally watched race to determine the ideological makeup of the Supreme Court in the Badger State.
The contest, in fact, between liberal Democrat Susan Crawford and conservative Republican Brad Schimel has so far raised $59 million, putting it on target to be the most expensive race for a state Supreme Court seat in U.S. history.
Victory by either will almost certainly mean that Soros and Musk will be targeted for candidates in upcoming elections this year and in 2026.
A just-completed poll by Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) shows Crawford and Schimel tied at 47% each, with 5% undecided.
Because of the impact of state court rulings on red-meat issues such as abortion, crime, and judicial fairness in general, this race for an open spot on the seven-member high court (now controlled 4-to-3 by Democrats) is attracting national attention.
Soros sent $1 million to the state Democratic Party, which promptly transferred the money to Crawford's coffers. In their stormy televised debate last week, former state Attorney General Schimel made an issue of Crawford's support from Soros and charged that the Hungarian-American financier and philanthropist of left-wing causes was "a dangerous person to have an endorsement from."
Dane County, Milwaukee, Superior Court Judge Crawford countered that Musk is trying to "buy a justice" on Wisconsin's high court. So far, Musk's American Political Action Committee has deployed $6.2 million to fund voter canvassing for Schimel and another Musk organization, Building America's Future PAC, has spent another $6 million to elect the Republican.
In the last few days, Crawford's campaign has focused its efforts on Musk himself. Its television broadsides slam the Trump adviser for his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) campaign to reduce the federal workforce.
"He is part of the party's playbook in elections later this year and the 2026 midterms—especially if Wisconsin Democrats can show him to be a political liability for Republicans," noted The Wall Street Journal.
Whatever the outcome on April 1, it seems a foregone conclusion that all political eyes nationwide will be on the race in Wisconsin and its outcome will have a national impact.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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