Elon Musk hasn’t been shy about throwing his money around in an attempt to help the Republican-backed candidate Brad Schimel into the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
There have been accusations of bribery after Musk handed out multiple $1million checks to people who had voted at the recent Wisconsin Supreme Court race – a major battleground state which has been predicted to impact the outcome of the 2028 elections.
Musk also donated millions to Schimel’s campaign directly, as well as through other sources.
It was all for nothing though, as Dane County Circuit Court Judge Susan Crawford Susan Crawford was announced as the winner on Tuesday (1 April).
The Democratic-backed judge’s victory to serve on the state supreme court means there is a 4-3 liberal majority in the judiciary, with the vote being seen as a crucial insight into President Donald Trump’s popularity; as well as being regarded as a test to see how well he is doing.
Dane County Circuit Court Judge Susan Crawford has been elected to serve on the state supreme court (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
The sum of Musk’s spending on the Wisconsin election has now been revealed, and in direct donations alone he spent over a whopping $20 million, Newsweek reports.
That total doesn’t include the $100 he offered voters for joining a petition he set up denouncing ‘activist judges’, plus the $1 million checks he gave away.
This comes after the billionaire walked out onstage during a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin on March 30 wearing a foam hat made to look like a block of cheese – a nod to the Green Bay Packers football team – only for him to be roundly heckled.
The tech boss described it as deciding ‘the future of civilization’, telling the crowd: “Thank you for coming out in support. It’s important for the country and the world.
“The Supreme Court can redraw the districts, which could result in the House shifting to a Democratic majority. If that happens, they will try to block all the reforms we are working on for you, the American people.”
Musk attended a rally wearing a foam hat made to look like a block of cheese (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
President Trump himself called it ‘a really big and important race, and could have much to do with the future of our country’.
Musk had warned: “This is a very important race for many reasons. The most consequential is that [it] will decide how congressional districts are drawn in Wisconsin, which if the other candidate wins, instead of Justice Schimel, then the Democrats will attempt to redraw the districts and cause Wisconsin to lose two Republican seats.
“In my opinion, that’s the most important thing, which is a big deal given that the congressional majority is so razor-thin. It could cause the House to switch to Democrat if that redrawing takes place.”
Crawford’s victory will have come as a shock after the amount of money that was thrown at Schimel’s campaign.
She has now secured a 10-year term on the court, following the most expensive state Supreme Court race in U.S. history.
The tech boss has been dishing out the millions to voters (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Speaking to her supporters, Crawford said: “As a little girl growing up in Chippewa Falls, I never could have imagined that I’d be taking on the richest man in the world for justice in Wisconsin, and we won.”
Schimel said ‘I knew I had to put my all in, but you gotta accept the results’.
Addressing the money poured into the campaign by Musk, Crawford said: “Wisconsin stood up and said loudly that justice does not have a price. Our courts are not for sale.”
Musk wrote in response to the win: “I expected to lose, but there is value to losing a piece for a positional gain.”
The city of Milwaukee’s election commission reported a shortage of ballots due to due to ‘unprecedented and historic voter turnout’.
Must previously donated a quarter of a billion dollars to Trump’s election campaign.
