Wisconsin’s state supreme court election on April 1 is officially the most expensive in U.S. history, with spending that has reached $76 million — with some predictions that the ultimate tally will top $100 million, almost twice the record spending in the state’s 2023 race. The biggest right-wing groups running an attack ad blitz against liberal candidate Susan Crawford are funded by a few very regressive out-of-state billionaires using their cash like a giant megaphone.
Elon Musk and Dick Uihlein are the biggest known backers of Republican Brad Schimel’s efforts to win the swing vote seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The uber-controversial Musk has spent over $19 million so far, backing Schimel. Uihlein is bankrolling multiple groups, including some, like the “Women Speak Out” PAC, that are joining an echo chamber of state anti-abortion groups that are all-in on Schimel. Joining the chorus for Schimel are the MAGA get-out-the vote operation Turning Point Action, fossil fuel billionaire Charles Koch’s Americans for Prosperity, the Republican State Leadership Committee (which is heavily funded by groups tied to Federalist Society co-chair and right-wing money man Leonard Leo), the far-right House Freedom Action (tied to the House Freedom Caucus), and the state trade group called Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce.
The stakes are high: the outcome will decide the fate of abortion access, fair maps, labor rights and more in that swing state. Big money knows that the composition of the court, which for now has a 4-3 progressive majority, hangs in the balance.
This Wisconsin race stands out for the sheer amount of money being spent, but far-right billionaires and the networks they fund have been spending big across the country in recent elections to install their preferred candidates on state courts — a key lever of power and, in some states, a last bastion of protections for democracy.
Why State Courts? Why Now?
State courts are a key line of defense protecting what a majority of Americans want: better-funded public schools, worker protections, access to abortion care and more. Leo and Koch, in particular, worked for years to capture the U.S. Supreme Court and lower courts to impose unpopular policies by undemocratic means. Some lesser-known GOP billionaires — such as Dick Uihlein and Jeffrey Yass –– have also entered the state court capture effort in recent years.
Culled from truthout.org
