Who Is Susan Crawford? Why This Judge’s Wisconsin Supreme Court Win Is A Setback For Elon Musk

<p>Democratic-backed Susan Crawford has beaten her conservative rival Brad Schimel to serve on the Wisconsin supreme court, according to projections. Liberals dominated the apex court of the Midwestern state 4-3, and Crawford’s win would keep the strength intact. The Democratic candidate’s win comes as a setback for Elon Musk, the head of government efficiency department, who backed Waukesha County judge Schimel. President Donald Trump’s tech billionaire adviser was one of the biggest fundraisers in the campaign, reports said.&nbsp;</p>
<p>With the candidates and their allies spending more than $100 million, including Musk’s $20m, according to a BBC, this was said to be most expensive judicial election the US has seen.&nbsp;The outcome may have significant consequences, potentially reshaping the balance of power within the US Congress, the report said.</p>
<p>At the time of writing, unofficial results gave Crawford a more than 8-point lead over Schimel, according to news agency Associated Press. The report said the turnout surpassed the 2023 record of 40%, with more than 52% voters exercising their franchise.&nbsp;</p>
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<p dir=”ltr” lang=”en”>Congratulations to Justice-Elect Susan Crawford on Tuesday’s triumphant victory in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race. Our statement: <a href=”https://t.co/oBEHK2I6k0″>pic.twitter.com/oBEHK2I6k0</a></p>
&mdash; Wisconsin Democrats (@WisDems) <a href=”https://twitter.com/WisDems/status/1907305165255750005?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>April 2, 2025</a></blockquote>
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<h2><strong>Who Is Susan Crawford?</strong></h2>
<p>Dane County circuit judge Susan Crawford was previously a private attorney for Planned Parenthood, and she advocated for abortion rights during her campaign.&nbsp;The 60-year-old won a 10-year seat on the court, fighting the first major election in a battleground state after President Trump assumed office in his second term.</p>
<p>Crawford’s win is being seen as a significant one as she managed to defeat a candidate preferred by the president.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Today, Wisconsinites fended off an unprecedented attack on our democracy, our fair elections and our supreme court. And Wisconsinites stood up and said loudly that justice does not have a price &ndash; our courts are not for sale,&rdquo; she said at a victory rally Tuesday night, according to a CNN report.&nbsp;</p>
<p>&ldquo;As a little girl in Chippewa Falls, I never thought I&rsquo;d be taking on the richest man in the world for justice in Wisconsin, and we won!&rdquo; Crawford said in a not-so-veiled reference to Musk without naming him.</p>
<p>A longtime judge based in Wisconsin&rsquo;s capital city of Madison, Susan Crawford has served as a Dane County Circuit Court judge since 2018, winning elections in both 2018 and 2022. She graduated from Lawrence University in 1987 and earned her law degree from the University of Iowa in 1994, according to the AP report.</p>
<p>She lives with her husband in Madison. They have two children.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Before joining the bench, Crawford built a career in public service and progressive legal advocacy. She worked as an assistant attorney general in both Iowa and Wisconsin, and later served as legal counsel to Democratic Governor Jim Doyle. In 2011, after Doyle left office, she joined a liberal Madison law firm known for challenging Republican-backed laws.</p>
<p>Crawford played a key legal role in high-profile cases, including representing Planned Parenthood in lawsuits against abortion restrictions and defending public teacher unions in the fight against Act 10, a Republican law that severely curtailed collective bargaining rights. She also opposed Wisconsin&rsquo;s voter ID law and publicly criticised the US Supreme Court&rsquo;s decision to overturn <a href=”https://news.abplive.com/explainers/explained-what-is-roe-vs-wade-1973-us-supreme-court-ruling-that-protected-right-to-abortion-and-now-stands-overturned-1539079″>Roe v. Wade</a>.</p>
<p>In the 2025 Wisconsin Supreme Court race, Crawford gained national attention for her sharp criticism of Elon Musk&rsquo;s financial involvement in the campaign. During the race, she referred to her opponent as &ldquo;Elon Schimel&rdquo; and framed the contest as a battle for judicial independence against billionaire influence.&nbsp;</p>
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<p dir=”ltr” lang=”en”>Judge Susan Crawford’s victory is a victory for working people in Wisconsin. She will take her seat on the bench and continue to uphold the rights and protect the freedoms of all people in her state.<br /><br />Last night, I joined the <a href=”https://twitter.com/WisDems?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@WisDems</a> team to thank them for their hard work in&hellip; <a href=”https://t.co/MPciWFdZMR”>pic.twitter.com/MPciWFdZMR</a></p>
&mdash; Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) <a href=”https://twitter.com/KamalaHarris/status/1907287984657035444?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>April 2, 2025</a></blockquote>
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<h2><strong>Setback For Donald Trump And Elon Musk</strong></h2>
<p>Though the judicial contest was officially nonpartisan, the result marks a setback for Trump in a pivotal presidential swing state that he narrowly won last November by less than one percentage point. Republicans, however, managed to retain two congressional seats in Florida elections held on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Trump took to Truth Social to voice his support for “patriot” Schimel, a former Republican attorney general. Crawford would be “a DISASTER for Wisconsin”, he warned.</p>
<p>Wisconsin, however, chose to go with the Dane County judge. &nbsp;</p>
<p>In fact, Milwaukee, dominated by Democratic supporters, reported a shortage of ballot papers “due to unprecedented and historic voter turnout”, according to a statement issued by the city’s election commission.</p>
<p>The election was seen as a test of sorts for Musk. It was reported that the DOGE head had toured the state to distribute millions of dollars to Republican voters supporting conservative causes.</p>
<p>Crawford’s supporters had attacked the SpaceX and Tesla boss in its posters over this.</p>
<p>Musk openly distributed two $1m cheques during a rally on Sunday to voters who signed a petition filed by him against “activist judges”, according to the BBC report. He also gave $100 each to others who signed it.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the billionaire’s political action committee announced to pay $50 to anyone who would come up with a Wisconsin resident’s photograph standing outside a polling booth holding Schimel’s photo.</p>
<p>Musk also said at the Sunday rally that the judicial race was all about who controls the US House of Representatives eventually. Republicans currently enjoy a narrow majority in the house.</p>
<p>Wisconsin’s Supreme Court could play a crucial role in several significant upcoming cases, particularly concerning abortion laws and congressional redistricting ahead of the 2026 Midterm elections and the 2028 presidential election.</p>