Elon Musk Faces Setback with $20M Political Contribution in Wisconsin Election

Donald Trump and Elon Musk are celebrating the approval of a new Voter ID law in Wisconsin, even though Republican Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel lost to Democrat Susan Crawford.

Tesla’s CEO and leader of DOGE, Elon Musk, along with his supporters, invested more than $20 million in supporting Schimel, the 60-year-old former Wisconsin attorney general from 2015 to 2019, with the goal of changing the dynamics of the state’s judiciary.

Crawford, on the other hand, received major funding from billionaires George Soros and J.B. Pritzker.

A little more than an hour after the polls closed in the state AP projected that the Democrat would win the contest.

While Trump and Musk have not yet commented on Schimel’s defeat, they have chosen to focus on the voters’ decision to incorporate the state’s voter ID law into the Wisconsin state constitution.

‘VOTER I.D. JUST APPROVED IN WISCONSIN ELECTION. Democrats fought hard against this, presumably so they can CHEAT,’ Trump wrote in a post to Truth Social. 

‘This is a BIG WIN FOR REPUBLICANS, MAYBE THE BIGGEST WIN OF THE NIGHT. IT SHOULD ALLOW US TO WIN WISCONSIN, LIKE I JUST DID IN THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, FOR MANY YEARS TO COME!’

Musk quoted a post on X confirming the Voter ID victory and simply exclaimed: ‘Yeah!’ 

Wisconsin´s photo ID requirement for voting will be elevated from state law to constitutional amendment under a proposal approved by voters .

The Republican-controlled Legislature placed the measure on the ballot and pitched it as a way to bolster election security and protect the law from being overturned in court.

However, the Supreme Court race was one that the eyes of the nation’s political junkies were keeping a close eye on. 

The election outcome ensures that Democrats will keep the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s liberal majority. That puts Republicans in a terrible bind as redistricting plans in the battleground state could determine the outcome in the 2026 midterms and 2028 presidential elections.

Wisconsin Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden predicted that he and fellow Rep. Bryan Steil would lose their seats because of redistricting should Crawford win.

‘We both lose,’ he said. ‘So that’s why everyone’s paying attention to this on a national level’ 

To muster support for Schimel, Musk even appeared in the state to speak to crowds of supporters of his America PAC petition that offered cash for signers to come out against ‘activist judges.’ 

The full-scale effort also involved the DOGE leader handing out multiple checks for $1 million to a lucky few who backed Musk’s political efforts. 

Schimel also had the backing of President Donald Trump, who offered his endorsement just days before the race. 

In total, the contest will go down as the most expensive judicial race in history. Nearly $100 million was spent on the race. 

Schimel’s loss proves that Musk’s political king-making abilities are limited after the billionaire threw $300 million of his own money behind Trump’s campaign. 

Despite the large funding from the Tesla CEO, the Republican candidate was not able to gain enough support to win a state Trump only won by a small margin in November.

The massive nationwide interest and spending in the race comes because the Wisconsin Supreme Court may soon be tasked with organizing the state’s congressional districts.

A magnet for cash, the race attracted an unusual amount donations as outsiders poured in funds to impact race ahead of the midterms. 

‘The judge race will decide whether the Wisconsin districts get redrawn,’ Musk said on Fox News Tuesday afternoon. 

‘They’re kind of trying to gerrymander Wisconsin to remove two Republican seats,’ he explained. 

Losing the Wisconsin race, the billionaire explained, will have major consequences in Washington, D.C. 

‘Losing this judge race has good chance of causing Republicans to lose control of the House,’ Musk remarked.

‘If you lose control of the House, there will be non stop impeachment hearings. There will be non stop hearings and subpoenas.’ 

Musk’s many attack ads and cash for petition signings may have backfired. 

Crawford’s team highlighted how Musk had infiltrated the race with campaign cash. 

‘I never thought as a little girl growing up in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, that I’d be going up against the richest man in the world to fight for justice in our state but here we are,’ she said at an event on Monday.