Musk is traveling to the battleground state ahead of the April 1 election, which pits Republican-backed Brad Schimel against Democrat-backed Susan Crawford.
EAU CLAIRE, Wis.—On the streets of a politically contested territory, one of America’s most politically contested figures has come to dominate the story of the upcoming Wisconsin Supreme Court election.
Local activists who favor Susan Crawford, the candidate endorsed by Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and other Democrats, have sought to make the race a referendum on Elon Musk. The special government adviser supports the Republican-backed candidate, Brad Schimel.
So does President Donald Trump, who urged Wisconsinites to “get out to vote early for Brad Schimel,” in a March 21 Truth Social post.
Election Day is April 1.
Musk “has an incredible amount of power,” said Anne, a woman who would not provide her last name, outside a Crawford rally in La Crosse, Wisconsin, on March 25.
“He wasn’t elected anything,” she told The Epoch Times.
At a sidewalk demonstration in Eau Claire on March 26, Barb Wise was holding a sign referencing DOGE, or the Department of Government Efficiency, a time-limited government commission in which Musk is playing a key role.
“Elon Musk is trying to purchase the Supreme Court in the State of Wisconsin,” she told The Epoch Times.
Political action committees linked to Musk have donated more than $14 million to Schimel, though even that is just a fraction of spending in the contest. A Brennan Center for Justice analysis found that the race has cost more than $81 million so far, with tens of millions spent in support of both sides.
In a post on social media platform X, Musk announced plans to visit Wisconsin on March 30, where he will hand out million-dollar checks to two random voters who signed an online petition on judges. Wisconsin’s appeals court blocked a lawsuit by the state’s attorney general, Democrat Josh Kaul, to stop Musk from delivering those checks.
By March 28, voters had cast more than 500,000 absentee ballots ahead of the April 1 election. The election also includes other state and local positions.
