Liberal Wins Wisconsin Supreme Court Race — GOP Holds Florida Congressional Seats

Susan Crawford, a candidate backed by in-state Democrats and supported by millions in out-of-state donations, has won the most expensive Supreme Court seat in state history.

Crawford defeated Brad Schimel, a former Republican attorney general who had President Donald Trump’s endorsement, though her straw opponent was tech entrepreneur Elon Musk.

Despite benefiting from millions in out-of-state donations, Crawford was able to portray the race as a battle to keep Musk from buying a seat on the state’s high court through donations in support of Schimel.

Musk donated $3 million to the state’s GOP and handed out two $1 million checks to signers of a petition against judicial activism, which he portrayed as a publicity event to draw attention to Schimel’s candidacy.

Billionaires George Soros and JB Pritzker donated $2 million and $1.5 million, respectively, to the state’s Democratic Party.

The bonanza, which included tens of millions in smaller donations, enabled Crawford to outspend her opponent by more than two to one. Other groups spent more than $81 million in support of the candidates, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.

Musk pitched the race as a battle for the future of the state and of the country. He said that if liberals retain their current 4–3 majority on the court, congressional district maps will be redrawn to favor Democrats, imperiling the GOP majority there.

Crawford, currently a circuit court judge in Dane County, led with nearly 56 percent of the vote after 70 percent of ballots had been counted.

GOP holds Florida congressional seats

Florida Republicans won special elections in the state’s 1st and 6th Congressional Districts, retaining the seats formerly held by Reps. Matt Gaetz and Michael Waltz.

The state’s chief financial officer, Jimmy Patronis, and state Sen. Randy Fine prevailed over their Democratic opponents in the respective districts. Although both districts have been solidly Republican, Democrats Gay Valimont and Joshua Weil out-raised the Republican candidates in both races.

The result adds to the GOP’s slim majority, bringing it to 220-213. That allows the majority party a bit more breathing room in passing legislation in support of Trump’s agenda.

Despite losing both special congressional elections in Florida, the Democratic National Committee celebrated the fact that both margins were tighter than in last year’s races, in which Republicans enjoyed landslide margins of 30 points or more.

By contrast, Fine and Patronis carried the day with margins of 8 and 15 percent, respectively.

“[Weil] massively over-performed in a deep-red Florida district that went for Trump by 30 points. Republicans should be nervous for November 2026,” Democratic Chair Ken Martin wrote in a statement posted on X.

Shapiro said the result was not out of the ordinary because the party out of power tends to do well in mid-term elections.

“If the final votes in these races are a bit closer, then the warning lights should brighten a bit,” he said.

Martin suggested that voters were voicing “their anger at Donald Trump and Elon Musk” over the funding cuts and layoffs recommended by their Department of Government Efficiency.