Wisconsin voters elected Susan Crawford to the state Supreme Court on Tuesday, maintaining the court¡¯s 4-3 liberal majority in a setback for U.S. President Donald Trump and his billionaire ally Elon Musk, who had backed her conservative rival.
The election was widely seen as an early referendum on Trump¡¯s presidency, and the campaign easily became the most expensive judicial contest in U.S. history with more than $90 million spent by the candidates, the state parties and outside groups, according to New York University¡¯s Brennan Center.
Crawford, a county judge, defeated conservative Brad Schimel, a former Republican state attorney general and also a county judge, who conceded in a phone call to Crawford and in a speech before his supporters. With 75% of the vote counted, Crawford held a lead of 55% to 45%, a difference of some 178,000 votes.
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