Schimel receives Trump endorsement, campaigns in town of Tilden
CHIPPEWA FALLS — Fresh off receiving an endorsement from President Donald Trump, conservative state Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel stopped in the town of Tilden on Saturday, as the campaign reaches its final stages.
Schimel, a former Wisconsin Attorney General from 2015 to 2019, is facing Dane County Judge Susan Crawford on April 1. Crawford is a Chippewa Falls native who graduated from Chippewa Falls High School in 1983. Crawford is slated to visit Chippewa Falls on Tuesday. Early, in-person voting is underway and continues through this Friday.
On Friday, Trump announced his endorsement of Schimel. Doing his best Trump impersonation and drawing laughter, Schimel told the crowd of 75 supporters at the Horizon's Lounge & Event Center about receiving the endorsement call from the President.
'We had a great talk,' Schimel told the crowd. 'It's been a good 24 hours. He's going to weigh in and help on this race. He knows this race isn't done.'
Trump's endorsement came after Schimel made comments on a conservative radio show on Tuesday that indicated he questions if all ballots were correctly tabulated in Milwaukee County. He spoke of the possibility of 'bags of ballots' and fraud during that conversation. In the interview, Schimel told his supporters need to 'get our votes banked, make this too big to rig so we don't have to worry that at 11:30 in Milwaukee, they're going to find bags of ballots that they forgot to put into the machines.' Schimel claimed that has happened in the past, including in 2024 when U.S. Sen. candidate Eric Hovde lost to incumbent U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin. There is no evidence that any level of fraud or tabulating errors would have overturned the 2020 or 2024 election results.
'I certainly hope the rules will be followed and enforced,' Schimel said Saturday when asked by a supporter about potential election cheating. 'All I can do is go campaign. We've got to out-run any potential fraud.'
While Supreme Court seats are technically non-partisan, Republicans are generally supporting Schimel, while Democrats generally back Crawford. Supreme Court seats have a 10-year term. The court is viewed as currently leaning 4-3 in a liberal majority. Justice Ann Walsh Bradley announced last April she was not seeking re-election. She is viewed as a liberal-leaning justice, so if Crawford were to win, the court would remain 4-3 liberal leaning. Liberals gained the majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court for the first time in 15 years after the 2023 election.
During his 30-minute speech Saturday, Schimel highlighted voter ID laws, expressing concern that the state Supreme Court could attempt to unwind laws that require voters to show an ID at the polls. He also contends that Crawford has indicated she would redraw Congressional District maps if elected. Currently, Republicans hold six of eight Congressional seats in the state; a redistricting could help Democrats win two more seats, including U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden's Third Congressional District seat.
'They are going to gerrymander these maps,' Schimel contends. 'That's what they are talking about doing. That's what drew the national money into the race.'
One topic that Schimel avoided was abortion — it never came up during his speech. Schimel also left immediately upon finishing his speech and didn't take any questions from the Leader-Telegram; no other local media were present. Crawford contends that Schimel supports an 1849 state law that would make abortion illegal in the state.
Schimel proudly talked about his years as a prosecutor and fighting for justice, adding that 'if you do it right, you leave a part of you behind, you never get it back.' He noted that while he has been hammered in ads for rape kit tests, he added, 'We solved the problem that no one had touched for 25 years.'
The Trump endorsement received backlash from Crawford's campaign.
'Brad Schimel is a corrupt politician who let 6,000 rape kits sit untested and gave a plea deal to a child predator whose attorney gave him $5,000,' wrote campaign spokesman Derrick Honeyman in a press release Friday night. 'Schimel has spent his entire career on bent knee to right-wing special interests, we assumed he had this endorsement locked up months ago. Schimel has said he wants to be a 'support network' for Trump and that the Wisconsin Supreme Court 'screwed over' Trump in 2020. Wisconsinites will reject Brad Schimel once again on April 1.'
Schimel noted he has been endorsed by three-fourths of sheriffs in the state, including several Democratic sheriffs. Chippewa County Sheriff Travis Hakes, also a Republican, told the crowd, 'law enforcement's choice, for sure, is Brad Schimel.'
Schimel noted the race is the most expensive in U.S. history, saying his campaign has spent $750,000 a week recently on statewide TV ads, and that will be bumped to $1 million for this final full week.
U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Minoqua, introduced Schimel. Tiffany said the state Supreme Court could weigh in on topics ranging from concealed carry rights to allowing men in women's bathrooms or women's sports.
'We do not want to become like Minnesota or Illinois,' Tiffany said. 'We have people who are getting out and voting early, but it is going to be a close race. We show up, Brad Schimel wins.'
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