Judge Susan Crawford Won a Seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, in Spite of Elon Musk
Illustration: Gabrielle Langdon; Photo:We've reached the end of another week. But before we clock out for the weekend, we're giving credit where it's due. Judge Susan Crawford is the latest champion in our Winner of the Week series.
Elon Musk, President Trump's favorite billionaire, made himself the main character of this week's Wisconsin state Supreme Court election, throwing around PAC money to 'supporters' of his preferred candidate in a move that really seems like buying votes, even if, upon closer inspection…yeah, it still seems like he's buying votes.
His bizarre and costly stunts were all in service of defeating Judge Susan Crawford, Dane County circuit court judge with reasonable, liberal-leaning positions on issues like abortion and voter ID laws. Crawford is a former prosecutor and mother of two with experience in the state attorney general's office and strong labor and union support.
Her opponent, Brad Schimel, positioned himself as the 'tough on crime' candidate, but as with so many state-level elections that gain national attention, the battle wasn't really between the people running. It was about the parties (though judgeships are technically nonpartisan, Crawford has been endorsed by the Democrats, Schimel by the Republicans), and laying the groundwork for the next election.
To sum up, Wisconsin is a swing state that had a 4-3 liberal majority on its bench, but with Democrat-affiliated Justice Ann Walsh Bradley's retirement, as goes this election, so goes Wisconsin, and possibly the nation. A redistricting line here, a voter ID law there, and Wisconsin's electoral votes could make or break 2028 (last year, President Trump won the state by almost 30,000 votes). That's why Musk cared enough to put on a cheese hat.
And despite her opposition's best efforts, Wisconsin voted in her favor.
'Today, Wisconsinites fended off an unprecedented attack on our democracy, our fair elections and our Supreme Court,' Crawford said in her victory speech, per the New York Times. 'Wisconsin stood up and said loudly that justice does not have a price.'
No one deserves a weekend more than Crawford. And to be clear, we aren't taking a side on her record. Whether or not she's a good judge was up to the people of Wisconsin to decide, and they have. This is about the broader issue of how elections are run in this country. Crawford isn't the first public official to come up against the antics of the Trump agenda, and she certainly won't be the last, and her dignity throughout the campaign is what we commend. I mean, if a tech billionaire who's not even from here started handing out million dollar checks to stop me from getting a job, my head would explode.
Whether this outcome gives you hope or hives for the midterms, one thing is clear: Trump & Co. are not afraid to throw their cash around in increasingly inappropriate ways. But, to quote Crawford's victory speech, 'our courts are not for sale.'
Elon Musk's Wives, Women, and Kids: A Deep Dive Into His Long and Messy Relationship History
By examining Musk's complicated relationship history (he's been married three times and reportedly has 14 known kids with four different women), perhaps we can understand a little more about what's driving him.
Originally Appeared on Glamour
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