Democratic-Backed Judge Susan Crawford Wins Seat On Wisconsin Supreme Court In Major Rebuke Of Elon Musk

Democratic-backed Judge Susan Crawford won a seat in the Wisconsin Supreme Court after beating Republican-backed Judge Brad Schimel on Tuesday despite millions poured into the race by tech billionaire Elon Musk.

Crawford defeated Schimel in a race that broke records for spending and had the highest turnout in a Wisconsin Supreme Court election ever. Based on informal results, Crawford won by 10% – a margin of over 230,000 votes. Turnout exceeded 52% of the voting-age population, topping the record set in 2023 of almost 40%. Spending nearly surpassed $100 million.

Crawford’s victory keeps the court under a 4-to-3 liberal majority, as it has been since 2023 when Liberal Judge Janet Protasiewicz won a seat in the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

A liberal justice will not be up for election again until April 2028, ensuring liberals will either maintain or increase their hold on the court until then.

Following her victory on Tuesday, Crawford stood on stage surrounded by the court’s four current liberal justices and celebrated her victory for democracy while also criticizing Elon Musk, who endorsed Schimel in his campaign and spent over $20 million of his own money.

“Growing up in Chippewa Falls, I never could have imagined that I would be taking on the richest man in the world for justice in Wisconsin,” Crawford said in her victory speech. “And we won.”

“Today, Wisconsinites fended off an unprecedented attack on our democracy, our fair elections and our Supreme Court,” she added. “And Wisconsin stood up and said loudly that justice does not have a price; our courts are not for sale.”

Crawford thanked each of the current liberal justices and hugged all of them following her win. One of the four is retiring, leaving the seat that she won open.