Rallying Anti-Musk Donors, Liberal Judge Raises $24 Million in Key Court Contest

New York Times

24-03-2025

Judge Susan Crawford, the liberal candidate for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, has raised $24 million for the April 1 election, a record for an American judicial candidate, her campaign said on Monday.
Her war chest — including $17 million raised in the period from Feb. 4 to March 17 alone — approaches that ordinarily expected of a candidate for governor and surpasses those of other recent candidates for statewide office in Wisconsin.
But it is likely to be just a fraction of the total spent on Judge Crawford's behalf in the contest, which will be the nation's first major test of both parties' enthusiasm since President Trump took office and will determine which party holds a majority on the state's top court.
Most of the money in the race will be spent by super PACs or funneled through Wisconsin's political parties. State law permits the parties to raise unlimited sums, which they can then transfer to endorsed candidates in unlimited amounts.
Candidates for the court, however, face limits of $20,000 per individual donor. Judge Crawford's campaign said it had received contributions from 113,000 donors since she entered the race over the summer.
Judge Crawford faces Brad Schimel, a conservative judge who received Mr. Trump's endorsement on Friday night and who is being aided by millions of dollars of spending from super PACs affiliated with Elon Musk, the billionaire who is leading the president's effort to cut costs across the federal government.
The Supreme Court race has already drawn $80 million in total spending as of Friday, according to WisPolitics, a political news outlet in the state. With just over a week to go, it is by far the most expensive judicial race in American history, topping the $55 million spent on the state's last Supreme Court election, in 2023.
The record sums come in part because of the enormous stakes. Liberals now hold a 4-to-3 majority on the court, which in upcoming years is likely to rule on a host of issues such as abortion rights and the state's election procedures, including congressional redistricting.
A liberal justice, Ann Walsh Bradley, is not seeking re-election. The winner will earn a 10-year term on the court.
Judge Crawford's fund-raising total is approaching the amount spent by the state's last Republican nominee for governor, Tim Michels, whose campaign spent $28.5 million during his 2022 loss to Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat. Mr. Michels, a construction magnate, spent more than $8 million of his own funds on that race, meaning Judge Crawford has now raised more herself than any nonfederal candidate in the state's history except for Mr. Evers.
The Democratic Party of Wisconsin, which has endorsed Judge Crawford, has not yet released its fund-raising totals for the latest reporting period. It is required to do so later in the day on Monday. Judge Schimel and the Republican Party of Wisconsin have also yet to reveal their fund-raising numbers from the latest reporting period.
America PAC, a super PAC funded by Mr. Musk, has spent more than $6.6 million to back Judge Schimel. Another super PAC affiliated with Mr. Musk has spent nearly as much on television ads in the race.
Judge Schimel participated in a livestreamed chat with Mr. Musk on Mr. Musk's social media platform on Saturday afternoon.
In a statement, Judge Crawford accused Mr. Musk of 'trying to buy influence over the Wisconsin judiciary by getting Brad Schimel elected to the Supreme Court.' She also expressed gratitude for what she called a 'historic outpouring of grass-roots support across Wisconsin.'
Judge Schimel told a crowd in Western Wisconsin on Saturday that he had spoken with Mr. Trump and that 'he's going to weigh in and help on this race,' according to a report from The Leader-Telegram of Eau Claire.
During their livestreamed discussion on Saturday, Mr. Musk said that Judge Schimel was trailing in the race. 'If you look at the early voting data so far,' he said, 'Democrats are winning, which is not good.'