Liberal candidate in Wisconsin Supreme Court race links opponent to Musk in new ad

S E E D E D   C O N T E N T

A new campaign ad in  Wisconsin's  high-stakes  Supreme Court race  tries to tie conservative candidate  Judge Brad Schimel  to Department of Government Efficiency enforcer Elon Musk by claiming the billionaire campaign donor is trying to buy Schimel a seat on the state's high court. 

The 30-second ad,  airing  on YouTube, claims Schimel is corrupt in other areas as well, pointing to child pornography plea deals and untested rape kits. 

"How corrupt is Brad Schimel? Let me count the ways," the ad begins. "One, Schimel gave a plea deal to a man caught with child porn after the man's lawyer gave his campaign thousands of dollars. Two, Schimel left 6,000 rape kits untested for years and then lied about it. Three, Now, Elon Musk is trying to buy Schimel a seat on the Supreme Court because he knows Schimel always helps his big campaign donors."

Susan Crawford , the liberal candidate, has tried to link Schimel to Musk multiple times during her campaign. Two groups backed by Musk, Building America’s Future and America PAC, have spent over $11 million in attack ads against Crawford. 

During last week's first and only debate between the candidates, Crawford slammed Musk's involvement in the race, calling him "somebody who's been dangerous" and claiming he's "basically taken over Brad Schimel's campaign."

"Now, you may be asking yourself: Why would a billionaire like Musk even care about this state race? Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Tesla, Musk's company, is currently suing the state of Wisconsin over a decision preventing the company from opening dealerships in the state."

Crawford did not seem to have the same concerns regarding millions of dollars in donations she has received from Democratic billionaires. 

It's a massive omission Schimel's camp was quick to point out. 

“While Susan Crawford plays the victim and the media falls for her spin, she has spent more than any judicial candidate in American history thanks to George Soros, Reid Hoffman, and JP Pritzker funneling money to her campaign,” campaign spokesman Jacob Fischer told the Washington Examiner on Wednesday. 

The race between Crawford, a Dane County judge, and Schimel, a Waukesha County judge, will determine whether the state's Supreme Court maintains a 4-3 liberal majority that flipped two years ago or reverts to a conservative majority. 

“We’re watching money just flood from out of state into Wisconsin,” Nick Ramos, executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, said Monday during a briefing with reporters. “It would not be crazy to say that this race could [raise] double what the last Supreme Court race [did], especially with the trends and especially with the track that we’re on.”

The 2023 race raised $53 million, breaking the record for the most money spent in a state court race. 

Crawford has raised $7.36 million so far. Thirty-five of her donors have given the maximum amount Wisconsin law allows an individual to donate to a single candidate, which is $20,000.

Schimel’s campaign has raised $4.93 million. Forty-seven donors gave him the maximum under state law. 

The other money comes from political action committees and other special interest groups.