Susan Crawford defeats Brad Schimel in Wisconsin Supreme Court election, securing liberal majority

MADISON, Wis. — The candidate supported by the Democrats won the election for Wisconsin Supreme Court by defeating a contender who had the endorsement of President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk. This victory solidified a liberal majority for at least three more years.

Susan Crawford, a judge from Dane County, played a prominent role in legal battles to safeguard union rights, abortion access, and to oppose the implementation of voter ID laws. She prevailed over Brad Schimel, the candidate supported by Republicans, in a highly competitive race that set new spending records, was projected to have the highest voter turnout ever for a Wisconsin Supreme Court election, and was emblematic of the larger political clashes in the country.

Schimel, a former state attorney general, received support from Trump, Musk, and other notable Republicans. On the other side, Crawford had the backing of Democrats like former President Barack Obama and billionaire philanthropist George Soros.

The first major election in the country since November was seen as a litmus test of how voters feel about Trump’s first months back in office and the role played by Musk, whose Department of Government Efficiency has torn through federal agencies and laid off thousands of workers. Musk traveled to Wisconsin on Sunday to make a pitch for Schimel and personally hand out to $1 million checks to voters.

Crawford embraced the backing of Planned Parenthood and other abortion rights advocates, running ads that highlighted Schimel’s opposition to the procedure. She also attacked Schimel for his ties to Musk and Republicans, referring to Musk as “Elon Schimel” during a debate.

Schimel’s campaign tried to portray Crawford as weak on crime and a puppet of Democrats who, if elected, would push to redraw congressional district boundary lines to hurt Republicans and repeal a GOP-backed state law that took collective bargaining rights away from most public workers.

Crawford’s win keeps the court under a 4-3 liberal majority, as it has been since 2023. A liberal justice is not up for election again until April 2028, ensuring liberals will either maintain or increase their hold on the court until then.

The court likely will be deciding cases on abortion, public sector unions, voting rules and congressional district boundaries. Who controls the court also could factor into how it might rule on any future voting challenge in the perennial presidential battleground state, which raised the stakes of the race for national Republicans and Democrats.

Musk and groups he funded poured more than $21 million into the contest. Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, campaigned for Schimel in the closing weeks and said electing him was essential to protecting the Republican agenda. Trump endorsed Schimel just 11 days before the election.

Schimel, who leaned into his Trump endorsement in the closing days of the race, said he would not be beholden to the president or Musk despite the massive spending on the race by groups that Musk supports.

Crawford benefitted from campaign stops by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the vice presidential nominee last year, and money from billionaire megadonors including Soros and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.

The contest was the most expensive court race on record in the U.S., with spending nearing $99 million, according to a tally by the Brennan Center for Justice. That broke the previous record of $51 million record, for the state’s Supreme Court race in 2023.

All of the spending and attention on the race led to high early voting turnout, with numbers more than 50% higher than the state’s Supreme Court race two years ago.

Crawford was elected to a 10-year term replacing liberal Justice Ann Walsh Bradley who is retiring after 30 years on the bench.

The video in the player above is from a previous report.