Waukesha County, Wisconsin

Humanity ended on a cold Tuesday in the upper Midwest, as liberals retained control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

At least, that’s how Elon Musk framed it when voters here in the Badger State cast ballots for “the future of America and Western Civilization” in choosing between liberal Susan Crawford and conservative Brad Schimel. They chose Crawford, despite the best efforts of the world’s richest man. “Only Trump himself truly brings out the working class,” one GOP source said yesterday.

On Sunday night, Musk argued that the “entire destiny of humanity” was on the line. Trump himself referred to Crawford, a county judge, as “a DISASTER!”

“She is so Far Left that even her own Party, the Radical Democrats, don’t want ANYTHING to do with her,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “Wisconsin Values are perfectly represented by Brad Schimel. He is Conservative, Strong and, above all, SANE. His Opponent is a Liberal Lunatic who will throw our Country, and the State of Wisconsin, into TOTAL CHAOS.”

The truth is that both Crawford and Schimel are standard-issue ideologues from the Left and Right respectively. Crawford’s win means liberals will retain a 4-3 majority over Wisconsin’s Supreme Court, which Musk and Trump believe will lead to gerrymandering in favour of Democrats. Both sides fretted over abortion cases that could be decided by the court.

It was the “most expensive judicial election in the nation’s history,” according to ABC News. A Brennan Center for Justice analysis found nearly $100 million was spent on the race, with $53 million going to Schimel and $45 million going to Crawford from donors including Reid Hoffman, George Soros and J.B. Pritzker. Volunteer poll workers marvelled at the turnout here in conservative Waukesha County, while Republicans viewed the high numbers as a sign that Musk’s campaigning had narrowed the gap.

Trump’s surprise 2016 win in Wisconsin came on the heels of a half-decade-long GOP surge in a state which has traditionally been friendly to Democrats. It swung back to Joe Biden in 2020, then chose Trump over Kamala Harris last November. Back in 2023, the liberal Supreme Court candidate won by an 11-point margin. Despite Trump’s successes, Musk was always fighting an uphill battle. So why put his reputation so firmly behind a long-shot bid in a state supreme court race?

Some believe this intervention is motivated by a pending legal battle for Tesla, and Musk argued the election was a critical opportunity to reject activist judges in a major state. But a flip here would have bolstered his argument, heading into the midterms, that his presence in the upper echelons of MAGA world is a boost to Trump rather than a drag. As his popularity drops along with DOGE, Musk needs to emphasise his worth to the President. GOP organiser Scott Presler posted before polls closed: “Should we win today, I will hire staff in Wisconsin & help defeat democrat Governor Evers in 2026. We will invest heavily in Wisconsin.”

Presler and others took comfort in the easy success of a Trump-endorsed referendum on voter ID, meaning many voters backed both Crawford and the GOP-favoured constitutional amendment. Nevertheless, Schimel ran behind Trump’s November margins in key counties, and Crawford ran ahead of the numbers Harris put up. As the night went on, a GOP source texted: “There are literally rural counties that went blue that were deep Trump victories in November.” Republicans, they said, “slipped in rural areas”.

Schimel earned more votes than his conservative counterpart in 2023, but it wasn’t enough — even with a cash advantage and celebrity support from Musk. Whether or not it bodes poorly for Republicans in the upcoming midterm elections, it certainly shows Musk has more work to do if he wants to secure victories when Trump’s name isn’t on the ballot, and if he wants the President to see him as an advantage to MAGA.

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Emily Jashinsky is UnHerd‘s Washington correspondent.

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