Cara Brown McCormick
According to Buying Time 2025 election spending data as of March 26, 2025, more than $81.4 million has been spent on the Wisconsin Supreme Court race between Dane County Circuit Court Judge Susan Crawford and Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Brad Schimel, making it the most expensive state judicial election in US history.
A deeper examination shows that Super PACs have poured $49 million into the campaigns, with $35.5 million from outside groups backing Judge Brad Schimel and $13.5 million supporting Judge Susan Crawford
The race has also set a new benchmark for individual influence in a judicial election. Nearly 20% of all spending has come from two super PACs tied to Elon Musk — America PAC and Building America’s Future — which have contributed a combined $17.7 million to support Judge Brad Schimel.
Musk’s America PAC has spent $11.5 million, while his Building America’s Future Super PAC has added another $6 million. In addition, Musk made a personal donation of $2 million last week to the Wisconsin Republican Party, which then transferred $1.2 million directly to Schimel’s campaign, according to state filings.
Together, these contributions have vastly outpaced the funds raised by Schimel’s own campaign.
AP’s Jill Colvin reports that America PAC has used Musk’s donations to blanket Wisconsin with mailers featuring photos of President Donald Trump and messages such as “President Donald Trump needs your vote.” Materials also say, “Susan Crawford will stop President Trump’s agenda.”
President Trump endorsed Judge Schimel, but he has not appeared with Schimel at any campaign events. Schimel has appeared at campaign events with Donald Trump Jr, where he posed with an inflatable version of the president.
Crawford’s campaign has incorporated anti-Super PAC messaging into her donation appeals and TV ads. According to Wisconsin Ethics Commission filings, A Better Wisconsin Together -- a Super PAC supporting Crawford -- has spent $6.2 million supporting her.
In an interview with the New York Times, Judge Crawford said her campaign had raised $24 million from 113,000 individual donors, including $17 million between February 4 and March 17 — all within Wisconsin’s $20,000 per-donor limit.
Big Money, High Stakes, and the Threat to Judicial Independence
Musk made his personal feelings about the political stakes of the election explicit during a livestream event with Schimel and Ron Johnson over the weekend, saying he was helping to “preserve democracy in America.”
“It might not seem important, but it’s actually really important. And it could determine the fate of the country…This election is going to affect everyone in the United States," he said.
Musk added:
“I’m speaking personally here — in my view this is about preserving democracy in America, and not having ridiculous districts drawn that effectively disenfranchise voters in Wisconsin. That’s my number one issue. But there’s also a separate concern regarding judicial activism.”
Republicans currently hold 6 of Wisconsin's 8 US House seats. Musk warned that if this changes "we won’t be able to get through the changes that the American people want.”
Schimel told Musk on the live stream how thankful he was for the support:
“Your time is so valuable, and the things you’re involved in, the great things you’re accomplishing — I am so humbled that you took some time to help out with this this afternoon,” he said.
As Super PAC spending tops $49 million in Wisconsin, some voters might question whether true judicial independence can withstand the weight of so much outside money from so few people.
Skepticism about money’s influence over politics is not unique to Wisconsin. In 2024, nearly 75% of Maine voters approved Question 1, a ballot measure to end Super PAC influence in state elections.
It's a clear sign of rising public frustration with the role of unlimited outside spending in American politics.
Stanford professor and democracy expert Larry Diamond recently warned of a growing culture of Super PAC intimidation and coercion in Congress. He pointed to 3 cases, specifically, in which Musk reportedly threatened to use his wealth to unseat lawmakers if they didn't support Trump's cabinet appointments.
Diamond noted that there is no way to verify these reports. However, he believes “it has long been obvious that Republican members of Congress have been running very, very scared,” and this kind of intimidation has factored into many members' decisions to retire.
Last week, IVN reported on the Super PAC arms race in the upcoming state Supreme Court election in Wisconsin and the national players driving it. You can read that article here