- Title: 'A real thumping,' Wisconsin analyst on Crawford win for State Supreme Court
- Date: 2nd April 2025
- Summary: MADISON, WISCONSIN, UNITED STATES (APRIL 1, 2025) (REUTERS) WISCONSIN SUPREME COURT CANDIDATE, SUSAN CRAWFORD, AT LECTERN / CROWD CHEERING (SOUNDBITE) (English) WISCONSIN SUPREME COURT CANDIDATE, SUSAN CRAWFORD, SAYING: "You know, just moments ago, I received a phone call from Judge Brad Schimel conceding the race." WAUKESHA, WISCONSIN, UNITED STATES (APRIL 1, 2025) (REUTE
- Embargoed:
- Keywords: Brad Schimel Donald Trump Elon Musk Madison Mike Wagner Susan Crawford University of Wisconsin Vilas Hall Wisconsin Wisconsin State Supreme Court
- Location: MADISON + GREEN BAY + WAUKESHA, WISCONSIN, UNITED STATES
- City: MADISON + GREEN BAY + WAUKESHA, WISCONSIN, UNITED STATES
- Country: US
- Topics: North America,Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
- Reuters ID: LVA001359502042025RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Wisconsin voters elected Susan Crawford to the state Supreme Court on Tuesday, maintaining the court's 4-3 liberal majority in a setback for President Donald Trump and his billionaire ally Elon Musk, who had backed her conservative rival.
The election was widely seen as an early referendum on Trump's presidency, but by Wisconsin standards, it was a "real thumping," in the words of state analyst, Mike Wagner, of the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
The campaign easily became the most expensive judicial contest in U.S. history with more than $90 million spent by the candidates, the state parties and outside groups, according to New York University's Brennan Center.
Crawford, a county judge, defeated conservative Brad Schimel, a former Republican state attorney general and also a county judge, who conceded in a phone call to Crawford and in a speech before his supporters. Crawford held a 9-point lead with a margin of some 191,000 votes and 88% of the vote counted.
With the balance of the court at stake, Musk and political groups tied to him spent more than $21 million to support Schimel. Crawford framed the race as a contest between her and the out-of-state billionaire.
According to Wagner, Musk's approach, "doesn't sit well with Wisconsinites. They want money out of politics. They want people to be separated from a fidelity or a tie to, you know, donors and that kind of thing. And so I think it really backfired on them to have Musk come and make those arguments."
Trump chose not to comment on the Supreme Court election in a social media post, instead celebrating the victory of a separate Wisconsin ballot measure requiring greater levels of identification for voters.
National Democrats claimed victory, calling the Wisconsin result one step toward their goal of reclaiming the House of Representatives in 2026.
"We should not over interpret the results of one race that was nonpartisan, at least in name only," Wagner said. "But it is a signal that early in the Trump administration, in the first 100 days, the traditional honeymoon period, there's already a 10-point backlash."
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