(Reuters) -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, and 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.
“I’ve got to tell you, as a little girl growing up in Chippewa Falls, I never could have imagined that I’d be taking on the richest man in the world for justice and Wisconsin. And we won!” Crawford told supporters in a celebration in Madison, the state capital.
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.
“Tonight, the people of Wisconsin squarely rejected the influence of Elon Musk, Donald Trump, and billionaire special interests,” Ken Martin, chair of the Democratic National Committee, said in a statement.
Wisconsin voters appeared to be aware the election had ramifications beyond the state borders.
“Supporting everyday people is more important than people who were supporting Elon Musk or the multi-billionaires,” said Crawford voter West Roberts, 26, speaking in Madison before polls closed on Tuesday evening.
In Genesee, retiree Gary Christenson pledged his vote for Schimel. “If a liberal gets in there, they’re going to continue to try to destroy Trump’s efforts to downsize the government,” he said.
FLORIDA REPUBLICANS WIN
In another test of Trump’s popularity, two Florida Republicans won their special elections to fill U.S. House vacancies created by Trump’s cabinet picks.
The victories give Republicans a House majority of 220-213.
Republicans had been expected to easily hold both seats, so the parties were watching to see how close the Democrats might come.
In one district that includes Daytona Beach, Republican state Senator Randy Fine defeated Democrat Josh Weil, a public school educator. Fine was up around 14 points, after Michael Waltz, now Trump’s National Security Advisor, won the seat by 33 points in November.
In the other race around Pensacola, Republican state Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis defeated Democrat Gay Valimont, a gun violence prevention activist. Patronis was up nearly 15 points, after Valimont had lost the seat to Matt Gaetz, once Trump’s nominee for Attorney General, by 32 points in November.
BATTLEGROUND STATE
Wisconsin’s top court is likely to issue critical rulings on voting rights and election rules ahead of the 2026 midterms and the 2028 presidential race, when the state is expected to remain a central battleground. Trump won Wisconsin in November by less than a percentage point – the closest margin of any state.
The court is also poised to decide whether abortion rights should remain legal statewide and could revisit a Republican-backed law that stripped most public employee unions of collective bargaining rights.
Musk, whose so-called Department of Government Efficiency is overseeing Trump’s unprecedented cost-cutting campaign at the federal government, became a central figure in the race. He held a rally on Sunday night where his main super PAC, or political action committee, handed out $1 million checks to two voters.
The Tesla CEO, who spent more than $250 million to help Trump win election in November, also promised to pay volunteers $20 for every voter they recruited before the election. On Tuesday he offered $100 to voters to upload a photo of anyone holding a picture of Schimel while gesturing thumbs up.
Musk had said “the future of Western civilization” is at stake, because the court may potentially rule on redistricting, or redrawing political maps. Redistricting could tip the balance between Republicans and Democrats in the closely divided U.S. House of Representatives, affecting Trump’s ability to govern.
Crawford’s campaign had gotten a boost from billionaire Democratic megadonors, including philanthropist George Soros and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker.
(Reporting by Joseph Ax in New York and Daniel Trotta in Carlsbad, California; Additional reporting by Eric Cox in Madison, Wisconsin, and Dan Fastenberg in Genesee, Wisconsin; Editing by Nia Williams)
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