Elon Musk broke his silence after suffering defeat in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, which cemented a liberal majority for the next three years.
“I never could have imagined that I would be taking on the richest man in the world for justice in Wisconsin… and we won,” Democratic candidate Susan Crawford said after her victory was assured.
Crawford’s win keeps the court under a 4-3 liberal majority in the face of crucial litigation surrounding abortion access, voting rights and redistricting.
Like President Donald Trump, Musk chose to focus on the background win of Wisconsin voters approving the constitutional amendment to enshrine voter ID laws, a vote that was being held at the same time as the Supreme Court race.
“This was the most important thing,” Musk posted on X in response to a post on voter ID, just hours after Crawford was unofficially declared to have beaten Brad Schimel in the most expensive judicial election in American history and the first major electoral test of Trump’s presidency.
Prior to the vote, Musk tweeted on March 29, 31, and election day, emphasizing the importance he placed on passing voter ID laws.
Schimel – who was once branded by his opposition as “Elon Schimel” – has also conceded defeat.
During his concession speech, one woman was heard chanting, “Cheater, cheater!” Schimel responded: “You’ve got to accept the results.”
The loss was particularly sore for Musk, who spent over $21 million to defeat Crawford.
The DOGE leader traveled to Wisconsin two days before the race to personally hand voters $1 million checks after giving a speech in which he wore a cheesehead hat.
“The long con of the left is corruption of the judiciary,” the Tesla billionaire also posted last night on X.
Trump took a similar approach, opting to focus on the voter ID win, writing: “VOTER I.D. JUST APPROVED IN WISCONSIN ELECTION. Democrats fought hard against this, presumably so they can CHEAT,” on Truth Social – hours before Crawford was unofficially declared as the winner.
“This is a BIG WIN FOR REPUBLICANS, MAYBE THE BIGGEST WIN OF THE NIGHT. IT SHOULD ALLOW US TO WIN WISCONSIN, LIKE I JUST DID IN THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, FOR MANY YEARS TO COME!” he added.
The Associated Press reported that voter turnout exceeded 52%, topping the record set in 2023 of nearly 40%, while spending climbed to over $100 million.
It is unclear whether Musk and Trump will formally recognize Crawford’s win as the president sent out a slew of messages last night on his TruthSocial platform relating to other Republican victories as well as the ongoing issues surrounding tariffs.
