Politics
Musk-Linked PAC Plans Massive Ad Buy Ahead Of Pivotal Wisconsin Supreme Court Race
A political action committee with links to top Trump ally Elon Musk has scheduled a multi-million-dollar television ad blitz ahead of the pivotal Supreme Court election in Wisconsin, which is scheduled for April 1.
The Musk-founded America PAC, which was used by the SpaceX and Tesla CEO to support President Trump’s election campaign and support early voting efforts in swing states, is spending $1 million on canvassing and field operations in support of conservative Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel, according to state election records. Schimel will be facing off against liberal judge Susan Crawford in a race that will decide the balance of the state’s highest court.
Musk has provided the bulk of the funding for America PAC, which focuses on registering low-propensity and first-time voters. The Super PAC was previously active in Wisconsin ahead of the general election, while Musk himself handed out $1 million to a randomly selected swing state voters who signed his election integrity petition down the stretch of the presidential campaign season.
America PAC’s ad blitz comes on the heels of an estimated $1.5 million in airtime purchased by Building America’s Future, another group backed by Musk. Available contracts posted by the Federal Communications Commission show more than $400,000 worth of ads will run in the Madison, Eau Claire, Wausau, and Green Bay areas. An additional $255,000 will also be running in and around Milwaukee, according to a report from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The ads will begin running around the state on Tuesday and are expected to run through early March.
SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk participates in a town hall-style meeting to promote early and absentee voting at Ridley High School on October 17, 2024 in Folsom, Pennsylvania.
Conservative activist Scott Pressler, who has registered thousands of Republican voters in swing states over the past five years or so, has repeatedly sounded the alarm over the importance of the Wisconsin Supreme Court race. He previously expressed frustration over low Republican turnout in another Badger State judicial race that came on the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on Roe V. Wade.
“I’m afraid history is going to repeat itself. In 2023, conservatives controlled the Wisconsin Supreme Court,” Pressler explained before noting that the balance of the court flipped to Democrats a year later. “By July 2024, the liberal Court reinstated drop boxes — just in time for the presidential election. While President Trump ultimately won, Republican Senate candidate Eric Hovde lost,” Pressler continued in an X post.
He went on to underscore the importance of the upcoming election before expressing fears that Republicans are not taking the race seriously, given its importance. “Where are the donors? Where are the door knockers? Where are the influencers? Where is the support?” Pressler pleaded. “Unless people step up to take action & do it quickly, the Court will stay under liberal control. If you want drop boxes in Wisconsin, do nothing.If you want election integrity & voter ID in Wisconsin, then do everything in your power to elect Brad Schimel to the Supreme Court on April 1st.”
Pressler’s post was amplified by Musk, who reposted the message to his 218 million followers. “Very important to vote Republican for the Wisconsin Supreme Court to prevent voting fraud!” Musk wrote.
Crawford’s campaign blasted the ad buy and accused Musk of trying to “buy off Brad Schimel.”
“In D.C., Elon Musk has taken control of Americans’ private financial information and cut funding for hungry kids,”Crawford spokesperson Derrick Honeyman told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “Now, Musk is trying to buy off Brad Schimel and take over control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court so that Schimel can rubber-stamp an extreme agenda of banning abortion and cozying up to corporations.”
Jacob Fischer, a spokesman for Schimel’s campaign, brushed off the attack in a responding statement to Breitbart News. “Susan Crawford was caught offering two congressional seats to out-of-state Democrat billionaires and has received the backing of George Soros, Reid Hoffman, and J.B. Pritzker. Susan Crawford nationalized this race on her own,” Fischer said.
Wisconsin Supreme Court justices serve ten-year terms. While the race is officially classified as nonpartisan, ideological battle lines are clearly drawn, while state supreme court races typically generate a massive amount of national attention.
While the race will have significant impacts on Wisconsin, it could also have significant national impact, as state Democrats view it as an opportunity to legislate from the bench and redraw the state’s congressional maps. If successful, a Democrat-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court could cost Republicans at least two U.S. House seats.
