A liberal judge has won a race for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court after defeating a challenger endorsed by President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk.
Susan Crawford labelled her victory a win against powerful interests after a contest that the Democrats had framed as a referendum on the president and Tesla boss Musk, who is leading the government’s cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Her win also cements a liberal majority for at least three more years on the highest court in Wisconsin, a swing state.
Judge Crawford has led legal fights to protect union power and abortion rights and to oppose voter ID.
“Growing up in Chippewa Falls, I never could have imagined that I would be taking on the richest man in the world [Musk] for justice in Wisconsin,” she said as she celebrated her victory. “And we won.”
Mr Musk, and groups he backs, spent more than $21m (£16.2m) in a bid to unseat her, with the DOGE boss even flying to Wisconsin to personally hand over $1m (£770,000) cheques to two voters.
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“Today Wisconsinites fended off an unprecedented attack on our democracy, our fair elections and our Supreme Court,” Judge Crawford said.
“And Wisconsin stood up and said loudly that justice does not have a price, our courts are not for sale.”
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The race was the most expensive in US judicial history and had the highest turnout for a Wisconsin Supreme Court election ever – as many saw it as a proxy fight for the nation’s political battles.
Judge Crawford defeated Republican-backed Brad Schimel, a former state attorney general.
When he told his supporters he had conceded to Judge Crawford, one woman began to chant: “Cheater, cheater!”
“No,” Mr Schimel said. “You’ve got to accept the results.”
