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One Thing: Why Musk Is Pouring Millions into Wisconsin
CNN 5 Things
Mar 30, 2025
Elon Musk and other outside groups have poured millions of dollars into advertising and organizing ahead of Wisconsin’s Supreme Court election on Tuesday. We hear about why the outcome could tell us something about the national political mood early into the second Trump administration.
Guest: Arlette Saenz, CNN Correspondent
Have a tip or question about the new Trump administration? Call us at 202-240-2895
Episode Transcript
David Rind
00:00:00
If this whole Yemen attacks single gate drama has taught us anything other than to be extra, extra careful about who you're adding to your group texts, it's that elections have consequences. Those who find themselves in power in Washington can often more or less appoint whoever they want to top jobs and the decisions they make can have wide ranging impacts. But of course, many Americans are most concerned about what happens closest to home. And on Tuesday The first big statewide election since President Donald Trump's win in November has people on both sides of the aisle fired up.
TikTok
00:00:39
There is an incredibly important election, if not the most important election coming up on April 1st in Wisconsin, and I need everyone to know about it.
Erin Burnett
00:00:45
It is smashing fundraising records, like just off the charts in a judicial election. Tens of millions of dollars from both parties, including more than $20 million alone from Elon Musk or groups tied to him. 20 million on a judge's race in Wisconsin.
TikTok
00:01:00
Like, favorite, repost, share, do all the things to try to get this video to people in Wisconsin so that they can vote for Judge Susan Crawford.
David Rind
00:01:08
'This Supreme Court race in Wisconsin has Democrats sounding the alarm about hot-button issues like abortion and gerrymandering and the ever-growing influence of Elon Musk. Many believe the results of this one election could be a referendum on Musk's influence on American politics and perhaps Trump's second term so far. But could the muskification of this race actually do Republicans a favor? Today, CNN's Arlette Saenz takes us to the Badger State to tell us why this race could present a playbook for both parties going forward. From CNN, this is One Thing, I'm David Rind.
David Rind
00:01:50
Arlette, there's a big statewide election coming up on Tuesday in Wisconsin. And normally my first question following that statement would be like, so what? It's not even a midterm year, but I know you've been following this closely and you've saying like, guys, this is a big, big deal. So what's going on here?
Arlette Saenz
00:02:12
Well, this is really a battle for a single Supreme Court seat in Wisconsin, and it has a lot of national implications as well. Not a lot attention is often paid to these Supreme Court races, but in recent years, they have become a really big deal in Wisconsin. Now, it's technically a nonpartisan race, but that's really just in name only. We've seen a lot major political figures like President Trump and Elon Musk offering supports the conservative candidate. And there is a lot of high stakes for both parties in this race. For Republicans, it can tell them whether Trump's support is lasting. He narrowly won there back in 2024. And for Democrats, it show whether they may have landed on some messaging that might resonate with voters as they're looking for ways to push back on Trump. So we went to Wisconsin to talk to voters, talk to the candidates, and see how exactly. This is all shaking out.
David Rind
00:03:04
So who exactly are these candidates here in this race?
Arlette Saenz
00:03:07
Okay, so on the conservative side, you have Judge Brad Schimel.
Brad Schimel
00:03:11
We have to restore objectivity to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. This is the whole reason I got in this race.
Arlette Saenz
00:03:17
He is a circuit judge in Waukesha County. He's a former state attorney general.
Brad Schimel
00:03:24
In my courtroom. No politics. Take it somewhere else. We are here to look at the facts of this case and apply the law as it's written by the legislature.
Arlette Saenz
00:03:32
He has really been running on this idea that partisan politics needs to stay out of the Supreme Court. He has described the current makeup of this court as being full of activist judges. As he's making his arguments against liberal candidate, he's really honed in on issues of crime and also trying to talk up President Trump's support.
Brad Schimel
00:03:52
He said, Brad, you have my full and complete endorsement to go and restore your state card, he's with me.
Arlette Saenz
00:03:59
And on the liberal side, you have Susan Crawford.
Susan Crawford
00:04:02
He wants to be part of a support network for Donald Trump. Now we know that's not what the courts are for.
Arlette Saenz
00:04:07
She is a circuit court judge in Dane County. That is where the state's capital, Madison, is based. She was a former attorney for Planned Parenthood, which is a key point of contention in this race, as the issue of abortion rights has emerged as a real flashpoint.
Susan Crawford
00:04:24
I represented Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin and their doctors, when the government tried to get in between women and their doctor's, threatening those doctors with felony prosecutions or taking away their medical licenses for providing health care to women. So we won. We won in the courts and got that pushed back.
Arlette Saenz
00:04:47
The Supreme Court could soon determine whether a 19th century law banning abortions is still relevant in the state these days. And so that is something that often comes up when folks talk about Crawford, but Crawford has really tried to turn this race into a referendum on Elon Musk consistently tying her opponent Brad Schimel to the investments he's been making.
David Rind
00:05:09
That's really interesting because wasn't abortion a kind of a galvanizing issue for Democrats after Roe was overturned? So is that not the more salient issue for folks? Like she thinks that Elon Musk is such an odious figure amongst her base that this would be the person to focus on.
Arlette Saenz
00:05:28
Abortion rights has definitely been a galvanizing and motivating issue for Democrats, and it has come up over the course of the campaign.
Susan Crawford
00:05:37
But let me talk just for a minute about my opponent.
Arlette Saenz
00:05:40
But at the same time, you have had Crawford, you have have had Democratic allies.
Susan Crawford
00:05:46
Elon Musk.
Arlette Saenz
00:05:50
Really drilling in on the way that Musk has gotten involved in this race, hoping that that big money, more than $20 million, would be something that might motivate people to vote for her and against the conservatives.
David Rind
00:06:01
Wait, I just want to zero in on that, $20 million just from Musk?
Arlette Saenz
00:06:05
Yeah, so it's hefty amount of money. This is already shaping up. It has become the most expensive judicial contest in U.S. history, and in large part, that is because of the money that has been poured in by Elon Musk's and groups that are aligned with him.
Susan Crawford
00:06:21
This guy thinks he can spend millions of dollars in the state of Wisconsin. I don't think he's ever set foot here. He doesn't know anything about me.
Arlette Saenz
00:06:30
Right now, it's more than $20 million. And really, that number keeps ticking up every single day. It's going towards things like field operations and television advertisements. Of course, there has been a lot of big money also coming in from Democrats. There are people like mega donor George Soros and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, who have sent a total of $3.5 million to the Wisconsin Democratic Party, which can then transfer it to Crawford. But that's really small bones compared to what Musk has been pouring into this race.
David Rind
00:07:05
Why is Musk so interested in this Supreme Court race?
Arlette Saenz
00:07:08
Well, that's the big question here. Of course, Musk invested hundreds of millions of dollars into trying to elect President Trump, and that is something that he's trying to replicate here.
Elon Musk
00:07:19
I really thought it was like a fork in the road of destiny here, so it was, like, essential to go all out.
Arlette Saenz
00:07:25
You know, he did a conversation on X in recent days.
Elon Musk
00:07:29
It will decide the congressional districts, how congressional districts are drawn in Wisconsin.
Arlette Saenz
00:07:35
And he said one thing that's motivating him is the debate over potential redistricting.
Elon Musk
00:07:39
This Supreme Court race, you know, has a big effect on the House of Representatives and House of Representative is raised at the margin so effectively, like the reason I'm bringing this to people's attention is because this really has implications for Wisconsin but for the whole country.
Arlette Saenz
00:07:56
But the Democratic critics and people like Susan Crawford are also pointing out that Tesla had recently filed a lawsuit to try to challenge a state law that prevents the electric vehicle company from being able to have dealerships in the state. And so that is something the liberal candidate, Susan Crawford, tries to argue, shows that maybe Musk is getting involved because he has business interests there.
Reporter
00:08:22
Did you recuse yourself given the direct support and appearances you've made with Elon Musk?
Brad Schimel
00:08:27
Elon Musk has one promise from me. I will follow the law.
Arlette Saenz
00:08:33
And this issue actually came up at a gaggle that Shimmel did with reporters after one of his events while we were there.
Brad Schimel
00:08:40
Wisconsin statutes are entitled to a strong presumption of constitutionality. I respect that precedent that says they are.
Arlette Saenz
00:08:53
Schimmel was pressed on whether he would recuse himself from the Tesla case if it does go before the state's Supreme Court. He simply said that he would evaluate that in any similar fashion he would for other cases that he's deciding to hear or recuse themselves from.
Brad Schimel
00:09:07
If his reason is to support me because he thinks he's going to get a result he wants, he might be supporting the wrong candidate.
Arlette Saenz
00:09:14
But this is clearly something that has come up in discussions and one that the liberal candidate has really keyed in on in the race.
David Rind
00:09:29
So how do Wisconsinites feel about Elon Musk being involved here? Because we've seen through the first couple of months of the Trump administration, people have strong feelings about Elon musk one way or the other. So what are they saying about him dumping all this money?
Arlette Saenz
00:09:44
Yeah, that was one thing that we really wanted to go and hear directly from the voters how they were feeling about this race So we stopped by this bowling alley called river's edge bowl in Janesville, Wisconsin and on Monday afternoons That's when several dozen seniors Descend on the bowling alley take over most of the lanes there for their weekly senior bowling league .
Arlette Saenz
00:10:08
'What are you thinking about the Wisconsin pre-port race? Have you made up your mind who you're going to support?
Sandra Hurt
00:10:12
Oh, yes, I already know who I'm supporting.
Arlette Saenz
00:10:14
And who's that?
Sandra Hurt
00:10:15
Schimel.
Arlette Saenz
00:10:16
And politics usually isn't the focus for these bowlers. But we did find that many of them were keyed in on this race. And there were several who expressed frustration with the role of outside money and specifically the money that Elon Musk has been pouring into the race.
Arlette Saenz
00:10:34
What have you thought about all of the outside money coming in to the state, including from Elon Musk?
Raymond Huntoom
00:10:42
That's too much for politics, for a judge to have that.
Arlette Saenz
00:10:46
I spoke with one man, Raymond Huntoom. He had worked at General Motors there in the Janesville area.
Arlette Saenz
00:10:52
Do you think voters will be deciding this race on the candidates or whether they oppose or support Trump?
Raymond Huntoom
00:10:58
I hope that you do the candidates, but I don't think they will.
Arlette Saenz
00:11:02
And he told me that this kind of money shouldn't be going into judicial contest. And he thinks that if someone's giving this much money that they want something from it. And he, told me, that it could look like you're a puppeteer and pulling the strings on something that him or the president wants.
David Rind
00:11:18
This is what we hear from Democrats that Elon Musk is trying to buy an election. We've also seen him bust out this petition where he's offering money to folks to sign up, kind of mobilize voters like he did in November. So that kind of thing is kind of, is breaking through, it sounds like.
Arlette Saenz
00:11:33
Yeah, it does. And we also talked to another man named Marvin Whitson, who is a Trump voter and he's undecided, though leaning towards Schimel in this race. And he thinks that Elon Musk should completely stay out of this.
Arlette Saenz
00:11:47
What have you thought of all the ads that have been running on your TV?
Sandra Hurt
00:11:50
Oh, they're disgusting. I just think they're disgusting I don't think they should be slandering
Arlette Saenz
00:11:56
We've also just heard people who are overly frustrated with the onslaught of TV ads. One woman, Sandra Hurt, telling me she thinks that these candidates should just have free airtime so they can actually focus on the substance of the race.
Arlette Saenz
00:12:08
And what have you thought of these first few months of President Trump's administration? I love it.
Sandra Hurt
00:12:14
Oh, I love it.
Arlette Saenz
00:12:17
I'll also note there are voters who are very happy with what Elon Musk is doing in Washington, D.C. Sandra Hurt is one of those who fully supports the president, fully supports Musk's work.
Sandra Hurt
00:12:28
I'm a fan of him and what he's doing. And I think President Trump is smart in getting him involved.
Arlette Saenz
00:12:35
And so it is interesting to see how this race is really becoming one where the central characters have become President Trump and Elon Musk.
David Rind
00:12:46
Right. I mean, that was basically the strategy for Democrats in November, too, right? That Donald Trump is a threat to democracy, all of his friends and allies are corrupt, etc. But that didn't really work out too well for them, as I recall. So, is that really the same message this time around, just with Elon Musk as the main character?
Arlette Saenz
00:13:04
I think that everybody will be trying to read the clues from this race to see what it can mean for Democrats going beyond this. You know, there are governor's races this year. There are special elections that are coming up. I mean, that's going to be the big question here, is whether this strategy that Democrats are latching onto, at least in these early months of the Trump term, if trying to position Elon Musk as their main political foil, if that is something that's gonna you know, resonate with voters. We talked to people in Wisconsin, some who were former Democrats, who are now Republicans.
George Buell
00:13:41
I've been a Democrat my entire life. I no longer am.
Arlette Saenz
00:13:45
One of those is George Buell, and he simply said that he thinks that the Democratic Party had left him behind.
George Buell
00:13:51
'They're so busy with all these left-wing, way-left-wing agendas like which bathroom to go in, men and women's sports, so on and so forth. I'm gonna be voting for the Republican in this race, simple as that.
Arlette Saenz
00:14:06
There are some voters, disaffected former Democrats, who have turned to the Republican Party looking for other types of messaging. And so these arguments about Musk may not exactly sit well or sway them another way.
Brad Schimel
00:14:20
that person that you know voted for November 5th, but you're not sure they're coming back April 1st, ask them if they think the job is done. I bet they're gonna say no. Help them understand why April 1, winning this court race is part of getting the job done to save our nation.
Arlette Saenz
00:14:36
'We did talk to voters who really were viewing this Supreme Court race as a way to stand up to Democrats. And so what Schimel's and Republicans are counting on is that those supporters who had turned out to help Trump win in November will turn out for this off-year election, which normally may not attract a ton of attention. Sandra Hertz, that conservative voter, told us that she thought that people had wised up to the Democratic Party. and that those people are silent but deadly and will turn out in this election to try to boost the conservative candidate.
David Rind
00:15:12
So even though, you know, Trump won in November and is in power, these Republicans are saying we need this extra step of having a conservative on the court who can kind of solidify some of the things they're trying to do, even if it's just on the state level.
Arlette Saenz
00:15:28
Yeah. Now I should also mention this is going to be a big test for Elon Musk and his political operation as well, right? He spent hundreds of millions of dollars in the 2024 race to try to get Trump elected. This is the first real local election where we are seeing Musk inject significant amounts of cash into this race. Will this be something that he and his team can Replicate going forward as they are trying to ensure that conservative candidates who will back up President Trump's agenda are elected across the country.
David Rind
00:16:00
Yeah, I remember there were all those concerns in November from some, you know, in the Republican Party that this was kind of too disorganized and kind of scattershot, but it seemed to work for the most part.
Arlette Saenz
00:16:12
Yeah. And so the question is, is can they have this work now in one single race? And so this could be for Musk and his team, a potential blueprint that they could try to replicate if they are successful in other races coming down later this year.
David Rind
00:16:29
Yeah, really interesting early test of how one crucial swing state, at least, is feeling about the Trump administration through this specific race. Arlette, thank you.
Arlette Saenz
00:16:37
Thank you.
David Rind
00:16:47
'Just a reminder, if you want to get in touch with us, you have a story you'd like us to cover, you can call us at 202-240-2895, leave us a quick voicemail, let us know how we can reach you, 202.240.2895. One Thing is a production of CNN Audio. This episode was produced by me, David Rind. Our senior producers are Felicia Patinkin and Faiz Jamil. Matt Dempsey is our production manager. Dan Dzula is our technical director and Steve Liktai is the executive producer of CNN Audio. We get support from Haley Thomas, Alex Manassari, Robert Mathers, John Dianora, Leni Steinhardt, Jamus Andrest, Nicole Pesaru, and Lisa Namarow. Special thanks to Wendy Brundidge. We'll be back on Wednesday. Make sure you follow the show wherever you listen so you don't miss it. I'll talk to you then.
