Wisconsin loss a warning sign for GOP about Musk’s campaign role

Tuesday’s decisive victory for the Democratic-backed candidate in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race offered a warning for Republicans that Elon Musk’s unfavorability with voters may outweigh the millions he’s pledged to spend for Republicans in next year’s midterms.

Tuesday’s decisive victory for the Democratic-backed candidate in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race offered a warning for Republicans that Elon Musk’s unfavorability with voters may outweigh the millions he’s pledged to spend for Republicans in next year’s midterms. Musk, the Tesla CEO who has become the face of the Department of Government Efficiency and President Donald Trump’s efforts to slash government spending, went all-in on the Wisconsin Supreme court race, spending more than $20 million and holding a rally in the state backing the conservative candidate last weekend. But his efforts to boost conservative Brad Schimel — which, combined with liberal donors, made Tuesday’s contest the most expensive judicial contest in US history – did not prevent Schimel’s 10-point defeat to liberal Susan Crawford. She won with a campaign focused heavily on Musk’s involvement in the race, even referring to Musk as her “opponent,” rather than Schimel, in campaign rallies. Tuesday’s results in Wisconsin and Florida, where Republicans won two House special elections but under-performed Trump’s 2024 numbers by double-digits, have fueled GOP concerns about this year’s New Jersey and Virginia governor races and next year’s midterms, and whether Musk’s DOGE chainsaw has become a drag on Trump’s – and the Republican – brand. “Musk was more of a motivator for the left than the right. At some point I felt bad for the candidate because his voice got smothered,” former Wisconsin GOP Rep. Reid Ribble told CNN, referring to Schimel. Musk’s DOGE cuts are hardly the only reason Republicans are apprehensive about future races. Historically, the president’s party does poorly in the lower-turnout midterm – Democrats took back the House in Trump’s first term, for instance – and voters have already made clear they’re concerned that Trump’s tariffs risk harming the economy and driving up prices. Democrats have also in the Trump era become the party of high-propensity voters, turning out in off-year and special elections more than Republicans do.