Dem
47
GOP
53
Wisconsin is a swing state and it has a swinging election a week from tomorrow. It is for a 10-year seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The court is nominally nonpartisan, but that doesn't fool anyone. The election will determine the balance of power between liberals and conservatives, the same way the election of Janet Protasiewicz ("D") did in April 2023. Currently the Court has a 4-3 liberal majority, but one of the liberal seats is up and a conservative victory would flip the balance to the conservative side.
Not only is this election not nonpartisan, it is also not confined to Wisconsin. It has become nationalized. The liberal candidate is Dane County Circuit Court judge Susan Crawford. The conservative candidate is former Wisconsin AG Brad Schimel. Not technically on the ballot but playing huge roles are Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Trump has endorsed Schimel, while Musk is showering him with money ($12 million so far and counting).
In fact, Musk is even going beyond that. He is offering Wisconsin voters $100 to buy their e-mail and postal addresses. They think they are getting the $100 for signing some petition, but it is really about getting their data so they can be bombarded with pro-Schimel and anti-Crawford "information." They are likely to be contacted on Election Day as well to get them to the polls. Here is the form for offering up your data. Note that you need to provide an e-mail address and a cell phone number, so unless you have a burner e-mail address and a burner phone, be careful. Also note that there is no mention of how the money will be delivered. If it is an Amazon gift card, you could be tracked when you use it. If they want your credit card to deposit it there, well, that is very bad news. Democrats are calling this "buying votes." It is possibly illegal. Musk used similar tactics during the presidential election.
The campaign is nasty, as all campaigns are these days. On his boutique social media site, Trump called Crawford "the handpicked voice of the Leftists who are out to destroy your State, and our Country—And if she wins, the Movement to restore our Nation will bypass Wisconsin." Crawford's campaign spokesperson said: "Schimel has spent his entire career on bent knee to right-wing special interests." Once upon a time, state Supreme Court elections were distinguishable from House or Senate elections. Now it is impossible to tell the difference. They are as bitter and vitriolic as partisan political elections now.
The election is important because many controversial issues are expected to come before the Court, including abortion, gerrymandering, voting rights and election fraud in 2026 and 2028. With Trump and Musk strongly supporting Schimel, the election is likely to be seen as an early test on how the Co-Presidents are doing in a key swing state. Trump's support may not be golden, though. In 2023, he opposed Protasiewicz and she nevertheless crushed her opponent, Daniel Kelly, 55.4% to 44.4%. (V)