Elon Musk's PAC Gave $1 Million To College Republican Leader In Wisconsin Giveaway—Why That Might Not Be A Coincidence

Forbes

01-04-2025

Billionaire Elon Musk and his America PAC gave $1 million to two Wisconsin voters at a rally Sunday, one of whom leads the state's College Republicans and has worked in GOP politics—a choice that's garnered scrutiny but may have been intentional, as past statements by America PAC suggest the Musk-helmed group does not select its giveaway winners at random.
Elon Musk presents a $1 million check to Nicholas Jacobs during a town hall March 30 in Green Bay, ... More Wisconsin.
Musk and America PAC have been spending millions to elect Republican Brad Schimel in Wisconsin's Supreme Court race, including offering money to state voters who sign the PAC's petition against purportedly partisan judges—ranging from lower $20 and $100 payments to people who sign the petition or recruit others, to two $1 million prizes given out Sunday when Musk campaigned in the state.
Musk gave $1 million to two individuals in Wisconsin Sunday, including one — Nicholas Jacobs — whose long history in Republican politics in the state raised scrutiny, while the other, graphic designer Ekaterina Diestler, was chosen to be a spokesperson for the PAC but did not appear to have any background in politics.
Jacobs said in a video posted by America PAC he 'didn't believe it' when his name was called as a prize winner and that Musk is 'motivating people to go out and vote in a way that hasn't been done before.'
Musk has classified the $1 million prizes as payments for the winners to be 'spokesmen' for America PAC and its petition against purportedly partisan judges—after outraging legal experts by suggesting in a now-deleted post on X that he was giving the million-dollar prizes out to voters who had already cast ballots 'in appreciation for you taking the time to vote.'
Jacobs introduced himself in the America PAC video as the chair of the Wisconsin Federation of Young Republicans—with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporting he's also worked on multiple congressional campaigns and with right-wing group Turning Point USA—and his win has garnered scrutiny on social media, as users have speculated Musk did not pick Jacobs at random given his background in GOP politics.
Past statements by America PAC suggest Jacobs may have been chosen intentionally: When the PAC gave away $1 million to swing state voters during November's presidential election, lawyers for the committee admitted in court that winners were not chosen at random, but were selected based on their ability to be good spokespeople for the group.
America PAC hasn't clarified how winners in Wisconsin were chosen, and the PAC and the Wisconsin College Republicans have not yet responded to requests for comment—but neither Musk's announcement of the Wisconsin giveaways nor court documents America PAC has filed in Wisconsin characterize the winners as being chosen at random.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court race is taking place Tuesday, with Schimel facing off against Democratic-backed candidate Susan Crawford. Polls will close at 8 p.m. CDT, though it's unclear how long after that it will take to determine a winner.
America PAC claimed last year it did not choose its $1 million giveaway winners at random, after Philadelphia's district attorney sued Musk and his PAC over their cash prizes being given out to swing state voters. While Philadelphia argued the $1 million giveaways violated Pennsylvania's rules against unauthorized lotteries, America PAC claimed the giveaways weren't actually lotteries at all, because winners were not chosen by chance. Instead, PAC director Chris Young testified during a hearing the winners were chosen based on their suitability to be spokespeople, and likened the petition that voters signed—which made them eligible to win the $1 million prize—to a 'job application' for a position as a PAC spokesperson. America PAC used a 'multi-step process' to select winners of the $1 million giveaways during the presidential election, Young said, as recounted by the judge in his decision allowing the giveaways. That process included looking at winners' public social media posts and meeting them in person before they were given the cash prizes 'to make sure their personality would be a good fit for the role.'
How the winners in Wisconsin were chosen. While Wisconsin attorney general Josh Kaul sued Musk and America PAC to stop the giveaways, that lawsuit did not take issue with whether or not the winners were chosen at random, so Musk and America PAC did not disclose its process for choosing the winners. Both Jacobs and Diestler made videos for the PAC after being chosen.
America PAC's admission in court that $1 million winners weren't chosen at random during the presidential election sparked a class action lawsuit against the PAC, as voters who had signed its petition because they wanted a shot at the $1 million prizes alleged they were defrauded. 'Had Plaintiff been aware that the lottery was not random, or that she did not have a fair chance to win the prize, or that her selection hinged on her perceived favorability to Defendants as a marketing prop, she would not have signed or supported the America PAC petition and would not have provided her [personal information] to Defendants,' voter Joy Harvick's lawyers wrote in the lawsuit. The litigation is still playing out in federal court.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court election has become a major focus for Musk and his America PAC, with the PAC spending more than $12 million on the race, on top of millions spent by other groups Musk is associated with and donations the billionaire has given directly to the state's Republican Party. The election is the first downballot race Musk has waded into since he emerged as a major political force last summer, when he formed America PAC and became one of President Donald Trump's top political donors and most outspoken supporters. Musk said in the aftermath of Trump's win that America PAC would keep up its campaign operations, announcing the PAC would 'keep grinding' and 'increasing Republican registrations in key districts around the country, in preparation for special elections and the midterms.' Musk has highlighted the Wisconsin Supreme Court race as being important given that it will determine the ideological balance of the court, which is likely to decide key issues like redrawing House districts and voting rules for the 2028 election. Payments to voters have become a hallmark of America PAC's efforts—albeit a controversial one, given laws that prohibit giving things of value to persuade voters to cast ballots—and the committee has also offered smaller payments to Wisconsin voters who sign its petition or recruit others to do so.