Wisconsin Democrats look to harness anger with Musk in court race

The Hill

10-03-2025

Wisconsin Democrats are launching a full-court press against Elon Musk as they look to use angry voter sentiment against him as a tool to turn out voters in the high-stakes Wisconsin Supreme Court election.
The state party this week launched The People v. Musk, a seven-figure campaign including digital advertising, organizing efforts and town hall events, among other aspects, geared toward Democrats as they look to tie Musk to conservative candidate Brad Schimel.
Democrats argue Schimel would be a 'puppet' for Musk if he were to win the April 1 election, which will determine partisan control of the high court.
The effort underscores how vital it will be for both sides to turn out their respective bases in an off-year spring election and could potentially offer Democrats a playbook for how to galvanize anger around Musk in other elections later this year.
'If there's ever a time that Elon Musk money is toxic, it's now,' said Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.). 'As he's dismantling programs for the middle class and firing federal employees and taking away services for my constituents, you know, that's not going to be looked at very positively.'
Schimel and liberal candidate Susan Crawford are fighting for an open seat on the top court in Wisconsin. The party has started to put a greater emphasis on Musk with less than a month to go before the election.
Democratic Party of Wisconsin chair Ben Wikler told reporters on a call this week that they were launching their campaign to 'counter Elon Musk's ongoing effort to buy Brad Schimel a seat on the state Supreme Court.'
The state party recently launched a new 30-second ad, which asserts in part that Musk 'knows MAGA politician Brad Schimel is for sale and will abolish the checks and balances that protect us.'
Musk waded into the race in January, saying it was '[v]ery important to vote Republican for the Wisconsin Supreme Court to prevent voting fraud!'
Musk's group, America PAC, has already poured $4.3 million in the race to support Schimel, according to the latest filing available on Friday. Building America's Future, a group that has received funding from Musk in the past, is spending close to $4 million to oppose Crawford.
Wisconsin Democrats have highlighted Musk's involvement in downsizing the federal government, which has prompted pushback and concerns from voters in townhalls in Wisconsin and elsewhere.
They've also noted litigation making its way through the courts involving Tesla, which wants to open up dealerships in Wisconsin. That case could potentially wind up before the state Supreme Court.
Democrats believe homing in on Musk could be a boost for them in an off-year spring election that won't see nearly the same kind of turnout that it did last November.
'When Democrats find out that the person who they're, you know, protesting outside of Tesla supercharging stations and around the Capital Square, Elon Musk, is, in fact, by far the biggest donor trying to put Schimel on the Supreme Court, that can send their energy level through the roof and drive up Democratic turnout on our side to make sure that Susan Crawford wins,' Wikler told The Hill.
The Schimel campaign called the Wisconsin Democrats' efforts hypocritical, referencing reporting that Crawford participated in a donor advisory briefing. The subject line in the email regarding the briefing said 'Time-sensitive: Chance to put two more House seats in play for 2026.' They also point out that Democrats are also contributing to outside spending in the race.
'Susan Crawford was caught attempting to sell congressional seats to out-of-state billionaires for campaign contributions, prompting the support of extremists like George Soros and [Illinois Gov.] JB Pritzker,' Schimel spokesman Jacob Fischer said in a statement.
'The attempts by Susan Crawford and the Democrats to distract the people of Wisconsin from her extreme views and the radical billionaires funding her are a mockery of hypocrisy,' he added.
The Crawford campaign has previously said she's never publicly or privately weighed in on the issue of congressional redistricting 'and was on this call briefly to share her background and why she's running.'
Sam Roecker, a Democratic strategist working on Crawford's campaign, has suggested that Schimel is the candidate who's been encouraging outside groups to spend.
'He's joked about having to go get knee pads because he's begging so much for money,' Roecker said. 'Somebody who, you know, has said openly that he wants groups, outside groups, to get into this race and spend money.'
As Democrats have started to target Musk in Wisconsin, Democrats in other states have begun using the Tesla CEO as a foil for their campaigns too.
Former Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.), who's running for Virginia governor, noted the potential impact that federal cuts and slashes would have to her state, posting on X: 'I'm all for improving the way our federal government runs. But that's not what Donald Trump and Elon Musk are doing. They're taking a sledgehammer approach to our federal workforce — with devastating effects on Virginians.'
JoAnna Mendoza, who's running to unseat Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-Ariz.), said in a statement posted on X last week that 'Elon Musk and his Silicon Valley cronies are as incompetent as they are corrupt, and it's about time someone fought back.'
A Marquette Law Poll released this month suggested a slight majority of voters disapproved of Musk's efforts. Fifty-three percent of respondents viewed Musk unfavorably, compared to 41 percent who view him favorably. Forty-seven percent said DOGE was properly carrying out Trump's agenda while 53 percent said it was disrupting programs required by law.
That same poll also found that the state Democratic Party and state GOP had higher unfavorable ratings than favorable ones, though Democrats had a higher unfavorable rating – 62 percent — compared to the state GOP at 52 percent.
Members of the party say it's a smart play for Democrats to lean into Musk in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race.
'It's a smart move because Musk is well known, very salient (he's in the news every day), and increasingly unpopular,' J.J. Balaban, a Pennsylvania Democratic ad maker who was one of the ad makers for Justice Daniel McCaffery's state Supreme Court campaign in 2023, told The Hill in a text message.
'Expect to see Musk featured in a lot more Democratic ads given that he's transformed himself into a cartoonishly extreme buffoon.'
Republicans, meanwhile, are unimpressed by the recent Democratic efforts.
'It's a one-word strategy and a three-word strategy,' said Wisconsin GOP chair Brian Schimming. 'One word is 'desperation,' and the three word is 'change the subject.' I mean, I don't think that Susan Crawford is performing as well as they thought she was going to, and so they need to change the subject.'
Republican strategist Bill McCoshen noted Wisconsin Democrats' efforts were 'the ultimate hypocrisy in politics,' noting that the state party has previously received outside funding from people like Soros and Pritzker.
But McCoshen also acknowledged that Musk would likely energize both bases to vote.
'Democrats use Musk as a proxy for Trump, and I get that. I probably would too if I were on their side,' he said. 'I think he also sends a signal to low-propensity Republican voters who don't necessarily turn out in spring elections, that, 'Hey, I'm on the field. This is Trump's guy, and this is the guy we need to elect.''
2024 Election Coverage
It's too soon yet to say whether Democrats' efforts to focus on Musk will pay off next month. Experts also note that just as big a question is how Musk will play with voters in the middle.
'Musk's participation in the race gives Democrats and liberals another piece to fortify their turnout models. I don't believe that Musk and DOGE and the efforts surrounding Musk and DOGE is … certainly not a turnoff to the MAGA voters. I mean, you know, they're just ready to go,' said Brandon Scholz, a former state GOP executive director.
'The group in the middle, the independents that, you know, Republicans who maybe voted for Trump but weren't enthusiastic about it. I think the book is still out yet…' he added.