MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin could go down as billionaire Elon Musk’s last big spend on a political campaign.
“But over time, maybe not as much.” Musk’s spending in this year’s Wisconsin Supreme Court race helped make it the most expensive court race in U.S. history.
It was an extension of Musk’s high-profile role in the presidential race, where he campaigned alongside Trump and headlined some of his own rallies.
He became the story.” Musk spent at least $3 million on the Wisconsin Supreme Court race himself.
Coincidentally, Musk’s announcement about spending less on political races came just hours after a liberal judge announced her candidacy for the 2026 Wisconsin Supreme Court race.
WISSON. (AP) — Wisconsin might be remembered as the final significant expenditure made by billionaire Elon Musk on a political campaign.
Additionally, it was a failure.
Musk, who is the world’s richest man, announced on Tuesday that he would cut back on his political campaign spending. The news was made just seven weeks after Musk’s favored candidate in Wisconsin’s Supreme Court race lost by ten percentage points, and as he is resigning from his position in the Trump administration to devote more time to his businesses.
Musk’s remarks, according to Democrats in the swing state, reflect a party-led campaign in this spring’s election, known as “People vs. Musk was successful in turning him and his wealth “toxic.”. “”.
Ben Wikler, chairman of the Wisconsin Democratic Party, declared, “The people have won.”. In Republican politics, the largest donor is packing up and leaving. “.”.
At least in Wisconsin, said retired longtime Republican strategist Brandon Scholz, “he deserves to be labeled as toxic after that court race.”. “”.
However, that does not preclude Musk from investing in state and national elections once more, particularly if the stakes are high and his funds have the potential to have an impact, Scholz stated.
“Maybe he has a lot of baggage with him,” Scholz remarked. But perhaps less in the long run. “”.
Musk’s expenditures contributed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court race becoming the most costly in the United States this year. S. background. And it happened only five months after Musk turned around defeats in Wisconsin and other battleground states four years prior by spending at least $250 million to help President Donald Trump win.
Musk was fully committed to winning the Wisconsin Supreme Court race. The weekend before the election, he personally delivered $1 million checks to supporters while sporting a cheesehead hat, which is a popular accessory among NFL Green Bay Packers supporters. Musk’s prominent role in the presidential campaign, where he supported Trump and spoke at some of his own rallies, was extended in this way.
He said to the roughly 2,000 people in the event center, where hundreds of demonstrators were demonstrating against his presence outside, “It’s a super big deal.”. I’m not acting phony. I’m actually present. “”.
However, his money and appearance didn’t work.
In Brown County, where Green Bay is located, the candidate Musk supported lost by three percentage points; the statewide loss was more than three times that amount.
Musk hasn’t made many public statements regarding the race or his role in it since the loss. His popularity has also drastically declined.
Just 33% of adults had a positive opinion of the Tesla CEO, compared to 41% in December, according to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs survey conducted two weeks following the Wisconsin court election.
Musk entered the race at the same time that he led the Trump administration’s attempt to reduce the size of the federal government with a chainsaw.
His Department of Government Efficiency, also known as DOGE, has enacted deep cuts to the workforce and spending, in some cases seeking to shutter entire agencies, but it has fallen far short of its goals for reducing federal spending.
The Democratic U. S. . Rep. One of the most liberal members of Congress, Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, is a vocal opponent of both Musk and Trump.
Musk is unlikely to actually back down, according to Pocan.
First of all, Pocan stated, “I don’t believe any of it.”. They have come to recognize Elon Musk’s toxic nature and the work he did through DOGE. “”.
A Democratic state senator named Kelda Roys was also less enthusiastic about Musk’s announcement that he intends to spend “much less” on politics going forward.
Roys remarked, “I’m sure there are a lot of other billionaire bros who would be happy to take his place.”.
Scholz, the Republican, stated that Musk might also participate in upcoming elections, but in a much more subtle manner.
“His profile was so enormous in Wisconsin,” Scholz remarked. He turned into the campaign. He turned into the narrative. “.”.
Musk invested at least $3 million in his own campaign for the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The Republican-backed candidate Brad Schimel received an additional $19 million from the Musk-backed organizations America PAC and a Rebuilding America’s Future. Over $100 million was spent on both sides, including that sum.
Across the state, the nonpartisan Wisconsin Democracy Campaign claims that America PAC spent at least $6 million on vendors who sent door-to-door canvassers. Wisconsin, which Trump won, was one of the seven most competitive presidential battleground states where the group repeated its efforts from the previous fall.
In an attempt to boost turnout, Musk paid three individual voters $1 million each to sign a petition in addition to his political contributions. If someone registered on his group’s website to knock on doors for Schimel and uploaded a photo of themselves as identification, Musk also promised to pay them $20. For each voter who signed the petition against “activist judges,” his group promised $100, and for each signer they referred, they would receive an additional $100.
When Schimel was interviewed by Musk for his podcast, he presented the situation in stark terms.
Musk stated on social media on election day, April 1, that “a seemingly small election could determine the fate of Western civilization.”. It matters, in my opinion, for the world’s future. “.”.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court will continue to be governed by liberals until at least 2028 thanks to the election of a judge elected by Democrats who turned the contest into a referendum on both Musk and Trump’s policies.
Musk’s declaration that he would be spending less on political campaigns coincided with a liberal judge declaring her intention to run for the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2026.
Judge Chris Taylor of the Wisconsin Appeals Court is opposing a conservative incumbent justice who supported Trump in his failed attempt to reverse his Wisconsin defeat in 2020. Months before the midterm elections, in April, the election will be decided. Democrats are hoping that their unease with Trump and Musk will help them win the election.
This year’s victorious Democratic-backed candidate seemed to be adopting a similar strategy to Taylor’s own.
She told The Associated Press, “My campaign will be about the people of this state, not about billionaires or the most powerful people. “.”
.
