An election for a single state Supreme Court seat becomes the ‘blockbuster’ political fight of 2025
CNN
Wisconsin’s Supreme Court election this spring will decide just one seat, but the contest already is shaping up as one of the most costly and contentious battles of the new year – with the control of the seven-member court and the fate of a 19th century abortion ban hanging in the balance.
Wisconsin’s Supreme Court election this spring will decide just one seat, but the contest already is shaping up as one of the most costly and contentious battles of the new year – with the control of the seven-member court and the fate of a 19th century abortion ban hanging in the balance. The race – between liberal candidate, Dane County Circuit Judge Susan Crawford, and the conservative contender, Waukesha County Circuit Judge Brad Schimel – also marks a test of how voters in a crucial swing state view Republican and Democratic politics in the first few months of Donald Trump’s presidency. And it underscores the role of the judiciary in sorting out the thorny issues deeply dividing Americans, ranging from the future of abortion in a post-Dobbs era to union protections for public-sector workers. The election is expected to top the $51 million price tag of the last Supreme Court race in the Badger State, as tallied by the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. That race, in 2023, broke national spending records for a judicial election. The April 1 Wisconsin judicial election is officially nonpartisan, but political actors on both sides of the aisle are racing to shape its outcome. Billionaires, such as liberal financier George Soros and Republican-aligned roofing magnate Diane Hendricks, have written big checks to the state Democratic and Republican parties, respectively – which has transferred campaign cash to the candidates’ committees. A new round of ads is slated to begin Thursday from a group tied to the world’s richest person, Elon Musk. The group, Building America’s Future, has bought $1.6 million of advertising in the race so far, according to the ad tracking firm AdImpact. Musk – who spent more than a quarter billion dollars to help elect Trump last year and is the leading figure in the new administration’s drive to slash spending and remake the federal workforce – previously expressed support for Schimel’s election.
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