The last time Wisconsin held an election for the state’s Supreme Court, Republicans cried foul over the wave of money from out-of-state Democrats that overwhelmed their candidate.
Two years later, Republicans have learned their lesson. It is Democrats who are grappling with a flood of outside money inundating Wisconsin.
A super PAC funded by Elon Musk has in just the past week spent $2.3 million on text messages, digital advertisements and paid canvassers to remind Wisconsin Republicans about the April 1 election, which pits Brad Schimel, a judge in Waukesha County and a former Republican state attorney general, against Susan Crawford, a Dane County judge who represented Planned Parenthood and other liberal causes in her private practice.
The spending by Mr. Musk, the tech billionaire who is leading President Trump’s project to eviscerate large segments of the federal government, comes as Judge Schimel and his Republican allies have spent more money on television ads than Judge Crawford and Democrats have — a remarkable turnaround in a state where Democrats have had a significant financial advantage in recent years….
Now, however, some major Democratic donors are holding on to their wallets. Mr. Hoffman, so generous in 2023, has donated a comparatively meager $250,000 for this year’s Supreme Court race at a time when he is pulling back on his political activity. Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois, who gave $1 million for the judicial contest two years ago, has donated $500,000. (George Soros, who gave $1 million in 2023, did so again last month.)
Ben Wikler, the Wisconsin Democratic chairman, said the pace of spending for Judge Crawford was ahead of where spending was for Justice Protasiewicz in the 2023 race, largely thanks to small donations. Judge Crawford has received more individual contributions since Mr. Musk’s initial super PAC contributions last week than she did for the entire campaign up to that point, according to her campaign spokesman, Derrick Honeyman.
“Democrats across the country are wondering, ‘What the hell can I do to fight back against the lawless regime of Donald Trump and Elon Musk?’” Mr. Wikler said. “The answer to that question is to support Susan Crawford beating Brad Schimel.”
For Wisconsin Republicans, Mr. Musk’s funds are effectively granting permission to other right-wing donors to invest in the race, said Mr. Schimming, who lamented that Republicans did not nationalize the 2023 race and allowed Mr. Kelly to get swamped on the TV airwaves.