By ADELINE TRAMMELL
On April 1st 2025, the state of Wisconsin will vote on a new supreme court justice, potentially switching from a liberal to conservative majority in the court. The candidates running are Susan Crawford and Brad Schimel, and despite the non-partisan nature of the race, the political and monetary lines could not be drawn clearer.
This election has gotten national attention and national funding. $76 million has been spent as of March 20th, with $40.9 million in spending to Schimel and $35.8 million to support Crawford, according to WisPolitics.This is the most money ever spent on a state supreme court election, and some of the biggest spending is yet to come, with the race intensifying as April 1st approaches.
Elon Musk is by far the biggest spender in this race. Through various PACs and organizations, has spent over $11 million dollars on Schimels’ campaign. Elon Musk, through the America PAC he owns, is offering $100 dollars to every Wisconsin voter who signs a petition to “reject the actions of activist judges.” This is the same strategy he used during the 2024 presidential election where swing state voters who signed a petition had a chance to win $1 million dollars.
When asked how she felt about the amount of money being spent on this race Crawford said, “There’s obviously a lot of money being spent by the campaigns, but there’s a lot of money being spent by outside groups.” She also said that in the first round of attack ads released by Elon Musk’s PAC, they used a photo of a different woman named Susan Crawford. “He clearly doesn’t know anything about Wisconsin; he doesn’t know anything about me.”
Beloit’s district representative, Clint Anderson, explained why there is so much attention on this race, saying, “Everybody is really trying to do this as a temperature check to see how people are feeling about the new administration.” This will be the first major election since the presidential one in 2024, and Wisconsin favored Trump by less than 30,000 votes. The results will inform both parties on whether or not their strategies and policies agree with voters.
Brad Schmiel and his team did not respond to requests for an interview. Trump officially endorsed Schimel in a Truth Social post on the 22nd. His current campaigning has included attending a MAGA rally with a 20-foot inflatable Trump figure that said “Vote Brad Schimel Supreme Court”, and a Musk-funded group left flyers with supporters saying that Schimel is essential to protecting Trump’s agenda.
During the debate, Schimel claimed the 1849 abortion ban was being used as a political pawn, noting that the Wisconsin Supreme Court finished hearing arguments 5 months ago and still hasn’t made a ruling. Crawford stated that this is how the process works, and “It’s not unusual for the court to take several months to get a decision out.” She also said she expects the ruling to happen before this election’s winner is sworn in next August. Despite this, advertisements for Susan Crawford’s election still heavily focus on the potential impact of the 1849 law being imposed. Brad Schimel is personally anti-abortion and has previously said there is no constitutional right to abortion in Wisconsin.
One of the first cases that the newly elected justice will likely rule on is Act 10. Act 10 is a law that limits public sector unionization significantly, and it’s been in place since 2011. In 2011, 14.1% of employed Wisconisnites were unionized, and in 2024, that number is less than half, sitting at 6.9%. “Act 10 is a 50-page long act that did a lot of changes to Wisconsin statutes”, Susan Crawford states. She previously sued on behalf of a teachers union to overturn Act 10, but it’s unlikely she would recuse herself from the case. Brad Schimel also has had involvement in Act 10, defending the law when he was Wisconsin’s Attorney General. He also would likely not recuse himself from this case.
When asked what she would say to Beloit students, Crawford concluded that, “I encourage students to become well-informed,” and that, “their fundamental rights and freedoms are at stake in this case.” On Brad Schimel, Crawford warns that he’s “a long time politician, he has extreme views, and he’s bringing a political agenda to the Supreme Court.
Voting is already open for this race, with both candidates encouraging their supporters to vote early. Despite all the money and attention, historically elections like these don’t get good turnout. The last Supreme Court election in Wisconsin had a 51% voter turnout, and it remains to be seen if the big spending will change anything.
Featured image: ISTHMUS
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