Musk Explains His Multi-Million Dollar Effort to Shift Wisconsin Supreme Court
Billionaire Elon Musk recently hosted Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel and Republican Senator Ron Johnson on X to discuss the upcoming April 1 election and its significance for the state’s highest court.
Musk is heavily invested in Schimel’s campaign, aiming to shift the ideological balance of the Wisconsin Supreme Court in favor of Republicans.
“This is a very important race for many reasons. The most consequential is that it will decide how congressional districts are drawn in Wisconsin, which, if the other candidate wins, instead of Justice Schimel, then the Democrats will attempt to redraw the districts and cause Wisconsin to lose two Republican seats. In my opinion that’s the most important thing, which is a big deal given that the congressional majority is so razor-thin. It could cause the House to switch to Democrat if that redrawing takes place,” Musk explained.
Musk fears that a court with a progressive majority could overturn the current congressional map, which presently gives Republicans a 6-2 advantage in Wisconsin’s U.S. House delegation.
According to the Princeton Gerrymandering Project, the existing map provides Republicans with a “significant advantage,” raising concerns about fairness. While a lawsuit challenging the map has yet to be reviewed by the court, if the justices decide to overturn it, Democrats could gain a path to reclaiming control of the U.S. House.
With the Republican House majority at stake, Musk and voter registration activist Scott Presler are making a concerted push to boost GOP voter participation in this critical Wisconsin Supreme Court race.
America PAC, a political action committee established by Musk to back Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential bid, has committed $1 million to Schimel’s ground operations, including canvassing and voter outreach.
Another Musk-backed group, Building America’s Future, has invested $1.5 million in advertising to promote Schimel’s candidacy.
Schimel’s opponent, liberal judge Susan Crawford, could significantly impact the court’s balance if she wins. A victory for Crawford would maintain the court’s current 4-3 liberal majority and likely lead to redistricting changes that could cost Republicans two congressional seats, potentially tipping the House to Democratic control in 2026.
Wisconsin’s government remains divided, with a Democratic governor and a Republican-controlled legislature. That reality places the Supreme Court at the center of the political battle.
“It’s become a place where a lot of hot-button issues people care about get decided,” said Barry Burden, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, in a CNN interview last month.
Presler, credited with registering thousands of Republican voters in Pennsylvania during the last election cycle, has warned that history could repeat itself if conservatives don’t mobilize. He referenced the 2023 Wisconsin Supreme Court election, where liberal candidate Janet Protasiewicz defeated conservative Dan Kelly, shifting the court’s balance.
“I tried to warn people in 2023, and here is what I’m saying now: if Wisconsinites don’t pay attention to this race, history is going to repeat itself, and you’re going to have this court stay under Democrat control,” Presler told Breitbart News.
The election is set for April 1.
Presler, through his organization Early Vote Action, has been focused on boosting Republican voter registration and early voting turnout in swing states. He has pledged to spend two weeks in Wisconsin working on the ground to help secure a conservative victory in the Supreme Court race.
Labeling Crawford as a “radical, rabid leftist,” Presler underscored the potential consequences of a liberal win, arguing that it could enable Democrats to redraw legislative districts and seize two GOP-held U.S. House seats.
Among the contested districts are Rep. Bryan Steil’s (R-WI) 1st Congressional District in southeastern Wisconsin and Rep. Derrick Van Orden’s (R-WI) 3rd Congressional District in the western part of the state.
“It’s not just the Wisconsin Supreme Court,” Presler emphasized to Breitbart. “It’s potentially taking the House majority away from Republicans, therefore stalling President Trump and taking away his ability to govern and legislate.”
Musk has echoed these concerns, acknowledging both the race’s importance and Presler’s efforts. “This is important,” he wrote in a February 27 tweet discussing the contest and the GOP activist’s involvement in flipping the court seat.
Presler remains optimistic, believing Republican turnout will determine the outcome. “I always believe that victory begets victory. I think we have a much more likelihood of winning these off-year Supreme Court elections, in part, because of our victory in 2024,” he stated. “This is a base-turnout election. If we get Trump voters out, then Brad Schimel will be our next Supreme Court justice.”