Elon Musk Reacts To Losing Wisconsin Supreme Court Election

Elon Musk has reacted to Judge Susan Crawford defeating conservative-backed candidate Brad Schimel for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

"The long con of the left is corruption of the judiciary," he wrote on X, formerly Twitter, early Wednesday.

Musk and groups he backed spent more than $21 million in an effort to defeat Crawford. He also traveled to Wisconsin two days before the election to hand over $1 million checks to two voters.

Newsweek has contacted Musk for comment outside of normal working hours.

Why It Matters

The election became the costliest judicial race in U.S. history and a battle over national politics. It was viewed as a litmus test of voters' feelings about the opening months of President Donald Trump's second term and Musk's role at the Department of Government Efficiency.

While the race was officially nonpartisan, Trump, Musk and other Republicans supported Schimel, while Democrats including former president Barack Obama backed Crawford.

Crawford's win maintains a narrow liberal majority on the court, which will likely decide cases on abortion, voting rules and congressional district boundaries in the coming years.

What To Know

Despite Crawford's win, Musk celebrated after Wisconsin voters approved a voter ID referendum, which he said was the "most important thing."

Musk repeatedly emphasized the stakes of the state Supreme Court race in the weeks leading up to the vote, saying that it could determine "the future of civilization."

Crawford and her supporters made Musk the focus of their campaign, stating that he was "buying" the race.

She said in her victory speech that Wisconsin "stood up and said loudly that justice does not have a price, our courts are not for sale."

What People Are Saying

Elon Musk told Fox News on Tuesday: "Losing this judge race has good chance of causing Republicans to lose control of the House. If they lose control of the House, there will be non-stop impeachment hearings, there will be non-stop hearings and subpoenas, they're going to do everything to stop the agenda that the American people voted for when they voted for President Trump."

Susan Crawford said in her victory speech: "Today Wisconsinites fended off an unprecedented attack on our democracy, our fair elections and our Supreme Court. And Wisconsin stood up and said loudly that justice does not have a price, our courts are not for sale."

Brad Schimel said in his concession speech: "I've called Judge Crawford and conceded. You got to accept the results."

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat and billionaire who donated to Crawford's campaign, wrote on X: "Elon Musk is not good at this."

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said on MSNBC that it was time for Republicans "to walk away from this unelected, unpopular, unhinged and un-American billionaire puppet master."

He added: "Elon Musk was just rejected decisively by the voters of Wisconsin. He tried to spend his unlimited resources to buy a state Supreme Court seat in Wisconsin and it failed spectacularly."

President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social: "VOTER I.D. JUST APPROVED IN WISCONSIN ELECTION. Democrats fought hard against this, presumably so they can CHEAT. 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!"

What's Next

The Wisconsin Supreme Court will maintain a 4-3 liberal majority as it considers important issues in the coming years.

Update 4/3/25, 5.00 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information throughout.