Wisconsin for the Win
Democrats nationally have reason for cautious optimism
Money can’t buy love, nor, apparently, a Wisconsin court seat. You may not have heard of Susan Crawford, but the Wisconsin judge, a liberal backed by Democrats, won a seat on the state Supreme Court last night. The victory means the court will maintain its 4-3 liberal majority. But this race was much bigger than Crawford, the court, or Wisconsin. It was seen as a national referendum on Donald Trump’s first 100 days and Elon Musk’s money.
The voters’ verdict? Judge Crawford trounced her opponent by 10 points in a battleground state Trump won just five months ago. It was a rare bit of good news for Democrats, who’ve been downing sorrow by the spoonful of late.
“In a moment of national darkness, Wisconsin voters lit a candle. Let the lesson of Wisconsin’s election ring out across the country,” Ben Wikler, chairman of the Wisconsin Democratic Party, said last night. He added, “From here on out, it’s clear that when Elon Musk comes to town, Republicans should flee.”
The race was being watched as a harbinger of the 2026 midterms, and because the court may rule on abortion access and redistricting in Wisconsin, which could mean more congressional seats for Democrats. Perhaps most importantly, it was a test for the man pulling most of the headlines and the strings during Trump’s second term — Elon Musk, the unelected, unvetted, unsupervised billionaire responsible for causing heavy wreckage to the fundamentals of American government.
The richest man in the world spent $25 million trying to get conservative Judge Brad Schimel elected. He failed and failed big. The Musk money strategy included millions in ads, paying voters $100 to sign a petition against “activist judges” and $25 an hour to canvass — that’s three times Wisconsin’s minimum wage.
Musk was in Green Bay on Sunday, cheese hat on head, proclaiming the race was critical to Trump’s agenda and “the future of civilization.” At the rally he gave away $1 million checks to two Republican operatives, whom he dubbed spokespeople for his political organization.
Crawford’s win was a strong Trump-Musk rebuke. She specifically and pointedly ran her campaign against Musk and his millions. “I never could have imagined that I’d be taking on the richest man in the world for justice in Wisconsin,” she said in her acceptance speech.
“Wisconsin stood up and said loudly that justice does not have a price. Our courts are not for sale.”
–Judge Susan Crawford
There are some signs that Trump is beginning to realize Musk is a political liability. Politico is reporting Musk is about to “retreat” from the administration. Trump and Musk have apparently decided that it will “soon be time for Musk to return to his businesses and take on a more supporting role.” Which is akin to politicians getting pushed aside and being told they are “spending more time with their family.”
“Please send Elon Musk to all the close races!” Jon Favreau, former speechwriter for President Barack Obama, wrote last night.
Trump endorsed Schimel, who went full MAGA, cheerleading for Trump and his agenda and wearing a Make America Great Again hat while campaigning. As a reminder, Schimel was running for the judiciary, designed to be a nonpartisan branch of state government.
Historically, a president’s first hundred days are a honeymoon of sorts, where the electorate, and to some extent the media, give the new administration breathing room to get its agenda underway.
Wisconsin is one sign that the honeymoon is over, if it ever began, for Trump and his effort to create a one-man government. There are others.
In two special elections in Florida for vacant House seats, Republicans won, but their margins were significantly cut by strong Democratic candidates who raised more money. In both races, the Republicans won by less than 15 points. In November, the Republican candidates for those same seats won by more than 30 points.
In Louisiana, two-thirds of voters rejected four constitutional amendments put forth by Republican Governor Jeff Landry. One would have lowered the maximum income tax rate. Another would have restricted budget increases.
All of this is on the heels of earlier Republican losses in state Senate races, one in Pennsylvania in a Trump +15 district, and one in Iowa in a district Trump won by 21 points. Add to that Trump’s withdrawal of Elise Stefanik’s nomination for U.N. ambassador because of worries over a special election for her less-than-solid red seat.
Since Kamala Harris’s loss in November, Democrats have been struggling to find a leader and message to combat Trump and the MAGA majority. These electoral wins signal to the base that there is still hope.
But on Monday, Senator Cory Booker, Democrat from New Jersey, did something perhaps even more important for the opposition party. He stood up and brought the fight to the Senate floor.
With little fanfare, Booker began speaking at 7:00 p.m. He said he would continue his protest for as long as he was physically able. In his speech, meant to galvanize Democrats, he ravaged Trump and his policies, calling out the president’s lawlessness and disdain for American values. It was a master class in how to oppose, resist, and attack.
“In just 71 days, the president of the United States has inflicted so much harm on Americans’ safety, financial stability, the core foundations of our democracy. These are not normal times in America. And they should not be treated as such in the United States Senate,” Booker said.
A bonus was that Booker broke segregationist Senator Strom Thurmond’s record for the longest speech on the Senate floor, coming in at 25 hours, five minutes. Thurmond spoke against the 1957 Civil Rights Act. Just after his 24-hour effort, the act passed.
Some are calling the record-breaking speech a stunt, but it was a commanding call for congressional Democrats to buckle down and fight. And the speech resonated. It was livestreamed on TikTok, garnering 350 million likes, according to Booker’s office.
“There’s a lot of people out there asking Democrats to do more and to take risks and do things differently,” Booker told reporters as he left the Senate floor. “I just think a lot of us have to do a lot more, including myself.”
By any reasonable analysis he isn’t wrong. The midterms are a year and a half out. So much more is needed to combat Trump and his democracy-annihilating policies. Many Americans may now be thinking that for the sake of the country, Booker’s effort could be the spark to ignite an aggressive and constructive opposition.
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Dan
Damn proud to have worked the phone banks and written postcards for Crawford! You can make a difference!
Crawford's win is a sign of hope, however we are also living in a POLICE STATE with masked ICE agents grabbing people off the streets and shipping them out of state without due process. Citizens are at risk, not just all international visitors.