(NewsNation) — Control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court will be decided Tuesday in a race that could have significant implications for abortion rights, voting rules and congressional district maps.
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Republicans like President Donald Trump and Elon Musk are backing Brad Schimel, a Waukesha County judge and former state attorney general. Democrats, including former President Barack Obama and billionaire megadonor George Soros, are lining up behind Susan Crawford, a Dane County judge and former attorney.
The race has drawn national attention and will be one of the first elections to gauge voters’ feelings about Trump’s first few months in office.
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“Wisconsin’s a big state politically, and the Supreme Court has a lot to do with elections in Wisconsin,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday. “Winning Wisconsin’s a big deal, so therefore the Supreme Court choice … it’s a big race.”
The winner of the court’s open seat will determine whether it remains under 4-3 liberal control, as it has been since 2023.
Crawford has embraced the backing of Planned Parenthood and accused Schimel of not trusting “women to make their own healthcare decisions” in a campaign ad.
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Schimel calls himself “pro-life” but has mostly avoided the issue of abortion. Instead, his campaign has portrayed Crawford as someone weak on crime who would push to redraw congressional district lines to hurt Republicans.
The contest is the most expensive court race on record in the U.S., with spending exceeding $90 million, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. Musk, the wealthiest man in the world, drew headlines after handing out $1 million checks to two voters at a Wisconsin town hall.
Trump won Wisconsin by about 30,00 votes, less than 1%, in November, but the margin in the state’s 2023 Supreme Court race wasn’t as close. In that race, liberal judge Janet Protasiewicz won by more than 10 points.
Tuesday’s winner will be elected to a 10-year term and replace retiring Justice Ann Walsh Bradley.
If Crawford wins, the court stands to remain under liberal control until at least 2028, the next time a liberal justice is on the ballot. If Schimel wins, the majority will once again be on the line next year.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
