Elon Musk is throwing his weight around in national and international politics these days. But the world’s richest man is also plowing his considerable money into state-level politics, backing efforts to elect a conservative to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
The Badger State race has become a “proxy battle over the nation’s politics,” said The Associated Press. Musk is backing Brad Schimel, the conservative in an “officially nonpartisan contest” that will determine whether Republicans or Democrats control the court. Musk is testing the legal limits: The billionaire said on X he would “personally hand over two checks for a million dollars” to a pair of voters in the race. That post was “deleted by noon on Friday,” said Politico. But Musk has still spent considerably. His PAC has spent $12 million on the race, and he has additionally given the state GOP $3 million.
Wisconsin’s politics have become “all about Musk,” said The Nation. He is not the only billionaire involved: George Soros and Michael Bloomberg have joined in, too. The race matters because it is “perfectly plausible that state courts will be roped in” to the legal battles over Musk and President Donald Trump’s attempt to expand presidential authority. Musk “wants to ensure he can prevent any check on himself and Trump from the states,” said Ben Wikler, chair of the Wisconsin Democratic Party.
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The election will be a “crucial test of Musk’s power,” said Kate Shaw at The New York Times. Trump’s ally is trying to “dictate the direction of state-level democracy,” a threat to the “core constitutional value” of federalism. States will be “ever more critical sites for the preservation of rights and the rule of law.” However, Musk’s involvement could also produce a backlash, serving as a “galvanizing moment for voters troubled by this billionaire’s influence in our politics.”
Wisconsin voters “could pop Elon Musk’s bubble,” said Paul Fanlund at The Cap Times. A victory by the Democratic candidate, Susan Crawford, “could also help break Musk’s hold on Republicans.” If Schimel loses the race after getting Musk’s backing, though, elected GOP officials may come to realize that his money cannot inoculate them from the backlash to the “dismantling of federal programs.” The Wisconsin Supreme Court case could end up “repudiating Musk and Trump in a manner that resonates loudly and nationally.”
What next?
There are concerns about whether “voters are well served” when state races are “nationalized with buckets of money,” said The Washington Post. One report pegged overall spending on the campaign at $59 million, “blowing past the previous record.” Such big spending is the “way campaigns are run now,” said Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, whose retirement created the court opening.
Democrats have made Musk a “major focal point in the race’s final stretch,” said NBC News. If the strategy works, the party will seek to use it in other battleground states. Democrats may not be able to beat Trump, said a GOP strategist, but “they can still beat the hell out of Musk.” The election is on Tuesday.
