A Democrat-backed Wisconsin Judge, Susan Crawford has won a seat on the state’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, in a huge blow to US Republicans, particularly billionaire Elon Musk, who shovelled millions into the race.
Crawford’s win for the Liberal party maintains their majority in the court, after she beat former Republican Attorney General Brad Schimel, the Republican candidate backed by Musk and President Donald Trump.
In the lead up to the election, Musk had handed out million-dollar checks to two Wisconsin voters, calling the race “a super big deal” and acknowledging the contest might affect “the entire destiny of humanity” due to the ripple effect that could affect the 2026 congressional races.
This Wisconsin Supreme Court contest became the most expensive judicial contest in American history, with a combined total of $US80m spent- a figure that tops the previous record of $US51m in 2023.
Musk and his affiliated groups, including America PAC and Building America’s Future, spent more than $US20m alone.
The fact that Crawford came out on top in this significant race signals that Democrats continue to overperform in non-presidential elections that draw more participation from highly engaged voters.
It’s also the case that Wisconsin’s Supreme Court is poised to take up major cases on issues abortion rights and redistricting, so Crawford’s victory could prove pivotal.
“Today, Wisconsinites fended off an unprecedented attack on our democracy, our fair elections and our Supreme Court,” Crawford said in her victory speech.
“Wisconsin stood up and said loudly that justice does not have a price. Our courts are not for sale.”
While Crawford described her opponent Schimel as “very gracious” for calling her to concede his election loss, she had less praise for Musk, saying: “I never could’ve imagined that I’d be taking on the richest man in the world… and we won.”
Who is Susan Crawford?
Crawford, 60, has served as a judge in Wisconsin’s liberal capital city of Madison—situated in Dane County—since 2018.
She won the election again in 2022, and previously worked as an assistant attorney general for the departments of justice in the states of Iowa and Wisconsin. She also worked as an attorney in the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
In 2009, she joined Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle’s staff as his legal counsel.
When Doyle left office in 2011, Crawford then joined a liberal Madison law firm that filed numerous lawsuits challenging Republican-enacted laws. In this role, she represented Planned Parenthood in a pair of cases challenging limitations to abortion.
Crawford has been outspoken against the US Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.
She has represented public teacher unions in a case challenging a GOP law that effectively ended collective bargaining for teachers and most other public workers. Crawford has also fought a Republican-written law requiring voters to show photo ID at the polls.