Musk-Backed PACs Shape Critical Supreme Court Races in Wisconsin and North Carolina

MADISON, Wis. — A dark money group funded by Elon Musk has launched attacks on progressive judge Susan Crawford, who is seeking a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court in the upcoming April election. This race could determine the balance of power on the court as Musk’s super PACs have already spent more than $4.2 million influencing the election.

On February 20, advertisements began appearing in Wisconsin attacking Crawford, while another Musk-funded super PAC has committed $2 million to support her conservative opponent, Brad Schimel, a former state attorney general. Douglas Keith, a senior counsel in the Judiciary Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, reported that such substantial financial interest from Washington insiders is unprecedented in state Supreme Court elections.

“I’ve been tracking these races for many years,” Keith said, “and I’ve never seen this much interest in a state supreme court election coming directly from the White House.”

Simultaneously, in North Carolina, the Republican majority on the state Supreme Court has directed a decision that enhances the likelihood of overturning the election results for Democratic State Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs, extending the power struggle within the state’s judiciary. Following two recounts confirming Riggs’s 734-vote lead, three of six justices indicated they would support discarding more than 65,000 ballots, despite Republican candidate Jefferson Griffin failing to provide evidence of any illegal voting.

The North Carolina Supreme Court recently ruled 4-2 against bypassing the court of appeals, further embroiling Riggs’s uncertain status and prolonging a decision already rejected by lower courts and the state board of elections.

“If the court of appeals, which has a 12-3 Republican majority, rules in Griffin’s favor and the state supreme court deadlocks 3-3, the appeals court would have the final say,” Keith explained. “The fix appears to be in.”

Chris Dillon, chief judge of the appeals court, will select the judges to hear Griffin’s appeal, and there are concerns surrounding potential conflicts of interest, as multiple members of the court have provided campaign donations to Griffin.

Critics of the political maneuvering in North Carolina, including Justice Keith, warn that the radical reshaping of the judiciary undermines public trust. “It is getting harder and harder for the public to think of these courts as doing anything different than raw politics,” Keith said.

In Wisconsin, top GOP donors aim to shape the state Supreme Court election to prevent any future rulings that might endanger their agendas. Schimel, openly aligned with former President Donald Trump’s base, has made assertions downplaying the insurrection on January 6th and openly welcomes challenges to his opponents.

Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, a leading business group, criticized Crawford with ads that label her “Catch ‘N Release Crawford,” a derogatory reference stemming from her judicial history. Musk’s involvement in the campaign includes approximately $2.2 million allocated toward get-out-the-vote initiatives, illuminating the escalating financial stakes in this election.

Estimates show that more than $18 million has been spent backing Schimel compared to just around $8 million for Crawford. Keith noted, “It seems like voters are probably seeing a lot more ads in favor of Schimel or attacking Crawford than they are the other way around.”

This electoral battle is emblematic of a larger trend of extreme partisanship filtering into state judicial races as political donors perceive increased political stakes amid significant state issues, including abortion rights and gerrymandering.

With the fate of democracy hanging in the balance, political actors like Musk are increasingly recognizing the power wielded by state supreme courts in determining election law and executing legislative mandates. “There’s a growing awareness of how state high courts will influence elections moving forward,” Keith observed. “And that is driving financial support toward those races.”