Voters Reject Anti-Trans Ads And Elon Musk In Wisconsin Supreme Court Election

Despite millions of dollars spent by Elon Musk and spent on anti-transgender advertisements, liberal judge Susan Crawford wins the Wisconsin Supreme Court election.

Source: Judge Crawford For Wisconsin

On Tuesday, Dane County Circuit Judge Susan Crawford secured a decisive victory in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, defeating Republican opponent Brad Schimel with 55% of the vote and cementing a 4–3 liberal majority on the state’s highest court. Crawford ran to succeed longtime liberal Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, fending off a challenge from Schimel, a former attorney general who became a GOP darling after Elon Musk poured an unprecedented $25 million into the race in an attempt to flip the court. The result marks a major setback for the right-wing billionaire class that has grown increasingly comfortable trying to buy control of American democracy.

Musk’s entry into the race set off a spending war between liberal and conservative megadonors, according to data from the nonprofit Brennan Center for Justice. Nearly $100 million was poured into the contest—$45 million backing Crawford, and $53 million behind Schimel. While Democratic donors like Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and George Soros, along with PACs like A Better Wisconsin Together, backed Crawford, conservative fundraising vastly outpaced them. Right-wing groups such as America PAC, Building America’s Future, Fair Courts America, and Americans for Prosperity dominated the donor leaderboard. Of the ten largest contributions in the race, only two supported Crawford—including one from her own campaign.

Musk’s efforts to buy the election drew sharp criticism, with outlets like Mother Jones directly accusing him of attempting to purchase the race outright. Through groups like America PAC, Musk spent more on this judicial contest than any individual donor in U.S. history. In a stunt that raised legal and ethical eyebrows, he cut $1 million checks to two voters who pledged to support Schimel—employing tactics he’s long accused Democrats of using. Though Musk defended the payments by citing petition signatures, one of the recipients, Ekaterina Diestler—the daughter of a Republican donor and CEO—appeared in a now-deleted America PAC video openly discussing being paid to vote.

“I did exactly what Elon Musk told everyone to do: sign the petition, refer friends and family, vote, and now I have a million dollars,” Diestler said. It wasn’t Musk’s only ploy targeting voters. His PACs offered $100 for signing petitions opposing “activist judges” and paid $20 to anyone willing to pose with a cardboard cutout of Schimel giving a thumbs up—doubling that payment if it was done outside a polling place. That last tactic is illegal, skirting Wisconsin’s law prohibiting electioneering within 100 feet of polling sites. Musk even boasted on Twitter, “You could make over $1000 in one day just by getting out the vote in Wisconsin!”

Much of the money backing Schimel went toward political ads, many of them targeting transgender people. One ad, now unlisted on YouTube and titled “Not Okay,” framed transgender rights as a “radical agenda,” denounced gender-affirming care for minors, railed against trans people using bathrooms aligned with their identity, and objected to trans girls participating on girls’ sports teams.

While the Wisconsin Supreme Court unanimously declined to hear a case brought by the state’s attorney general challenging Musk’s actions, Crawford was endorsed by all four liberal justices on the court, including her soon-to-be predecessor, Justice Ann Walsh Bradley. In an interview with independent outlet The 19th, Crawford condemned Musk’s efforts as a blatant attempt to buy the election, saying, “It’s really disappointing to see that, and it is really making people mad. And so I think what we’re seeing a lot of at these appearances is a reaction to people not wanting to have some outsider billionaire like that come in and try to buy a seat on the Supreme Court.”

Schimel, for his part, did not disavow the donations. According to the Associated Press, he denied having any control over “spending from any outside group, whether it’s Elon Musk or anyone else,” and reiterated his commitment to “reject activist judges” and follow the law. Though judges are expected to remain nonpartisan, Schimel has been described by The New York Times as a “longtime Trump loyalist.” He dressed as Trump for Halloween, ran campaign ads promoting Trump’s endorsement, and has appeared on political livestreams with both Trump and Musk, often wearing a Make America Great Again hat. His views on LGBTQ+ issues mirror theirs: according to GLAAD, he opposes marriage equality, used state funds to send his lawyer to an Alliance Defending Freedom conference, supports religious exemptions that enable anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination, and opposes abortion rights.

Crawford, by contrast, supports reproductive freedom and the right to abortion, stating that the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade was “wrongly decided.” On transgender rights, she emphasized her commitment to upholding the law and enforcing protections against discrimination. In a statement to PBS Wisconsin, she said, “That is a question where if a case came in front of me, that was making an argument about the rights of transgender people or making a claim that they’d been discriminated against or something like that, I would have to look at the law and see what protections were available, and hear out what the attorney’s arguments were both for and against those kinds of protections. Obviously, look at the facts to see what was happening in that case. And then make a decision based on what I thought the facts and the law required.”

This election marked the first test of anti-LGBTQ+ ideology’s viability following the 2024 presidential election. Voters resoundingly rejected the agenda pushed by Trump and Musk, reflecting growing public disapproval of government efforts to erase transgender people from public life. The results offer a clear rebuke of oligarchic attempts to buy political power with money and bigotry—an approach that remains deeply out of step with the values of the American public.

This is especially clear when looking at Wisconsin’s legislative history: activists have shown up in force to oppose anti-trans bills, submitting more than 10,000 pages of written opposition. Some political leaders in the state have followed suit—Governor Tony Evers (D), for instance, has consistently vetoed every anti-trans bill that reaches his desk. While Trump won Wisconsin by a narrow 0.8% margin, state elections have repeatedly demonstrated that anti-trans views are not popular with voters.

“From Indonesia to Serbia, Turkey to Hungary, people are rising across the world to turn back the fascist tide. Tonight, it was Wisconsin's turn. If the 2024 general election and its aftermath demonstrated the mortal danger that Elon Musk and billionaire class poses to both trans people and to democracy itself, this election shows that they are not invincible,” said Mia Wong, transgender organizer, journalist, and host of the podcast It Could Happen Here in a statement sent to Erin in the Morning. “Elon’s vile transphobia and blatant vote buying can and will be defeated first in Wisconsin, then in Washington DC, and then across the globe… If they can be beaten in Wisconsin, they can be beaten anywhere, and no trans person will be safe until Elon’s power is broken for good.”

Independent transgender journalist Mady Castigan said in a statement to Erin in the Morning, “Schimel’s campaign spent millions of dollars in TV ads attacking Crawford over her history of support for the trans community, and his message of hate clearly fell flat with voters. Crawford’s landslide victory against this nationwide campaign of bigotry shows what many of us have been saying all along–everyday people care about everyday issues, like billionaires taking away their social security checks and trying to buy elections. And Democrats should double down on that message, rather than abandon their most vulnerable voters, if they want to keep winning elections in the future.”

Former President Barack Obama said of Crawford’s win on BlueSky, “Congratulations to Judge Susan Crawford on her victory, and to the people of Wisconsin for electing a judge who believes in the rule of law and protecting our freedoms.”

Feminist writer Roxane Gay said of his win on BlueSky, “Apartheid Clyde is a petty, dangerous, incompetent man, but what always amuses me is how no one likes him and he can’t even buy his way into getting people to like him. He can’t buy a good sense of humor or good looks or a good reputation.”