We go to Madison, Wisconsin, to talk with The Nation’s John Nichols about Tuesday’s pivotal state Supreme Court docket election, during which liberal Choose Susan Crawford convincingly defeated conservative candidate Brad Schimel. Crawford’s election is a significant victory for Democrats after billionaire Trump ally Elon Musk poured about $25 million into the Wisconsin race, serving to to make it the most costly judicial election in U.S. historical past. “It is a enormous sign from a battleground state that People are genuinely upset, genuinely indignant, I feel, with Trump and with Musk,” says Nichols. Tuesday additionally noticed a pair of particular Home elections in Florida the place Republicans held each seats, serving to to keep up the social gathering’s slim majority in Congress. Whereas Democrats had been unlikely to flip the deep-red districts, Nichols notes “there was an enormous shift in each of the Florida districts towards the Democratic candidates.”
TRANSCRIPT
It is a rush transcript. Copy will not be in its ultimate type.
AMY GOODMAN: We start right now’s present in Wisconsin, the place liberal Choose Susan Crawford defeated the Trump-backed Brad Schimel for a seat on Wisconsin’s state Supreme Court docket in the most costly judicial election in U.S. historical past. Many seen the race as a referendum on Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and Trump megadonor, who’s been heading the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle key federal companies. Choose Crawford gained 55% of the vote, despite the fact that Musk spent over $25 million on the race to assist elect Schimel. On Sunday night time, Musk gave out $1 million checks to 2 Wisconsin voters, one among whom occurred to be the chair of the Wisconsin Federation of Younger Republicans. Choose Crawford made a reference to Musk throughout her victory speech.
JUDGE SUSAN CRAWFORD: As a bit woman rising up in Chippewa Falls, I by no means may have imagined that I’d be taking over the richest man on the earth for justice in Wisconsin. And we gained! … And Wisconsin’s stood up and stated loudly that justice doesn’t have a value. Our courts will not be on the market.
AMY GOODMAN: Whereas Democrats are celebrating the ends in Wisconsin, as anticipated, Republicans gained two intently watched Home races in conservative districts in Florida, however the races had been a lot nearer than in November.
Becoming a member of us from Madison, Wisconsin, is John Nichols, The Nation’s nationwide affairs correspondent, his new article headlined “Wisconsin Rejects Musk’s Cash, Trump’s Lies and the Proper-Wing Assault on the Judiciary.”
John, general, I feel it’s being estimated that there was one thing like $100 million spent on this state judicial race. Are you able to discuss in regards to the significance of the liberal Choose Crawford’s victory by fairly a big margin?
JOHN NICHOLS: It was fairly a big margin, Amy. And let me inform you, I don’t suppose we will overestimate the importance. Going into this race, when individuals would ask me about it, I might say, “There’s no center floor. If Crawford wins, it is going to be an enormous sign that People are rejecting, clearly, the cash that Elon Musk is utilizing to try to purchase elections, but additionally they’re rejecting the course of the Trump administration.” Then again, if Brad Schimel had gained, it might have been taken by Trump and Musk as, you understand, a complete vindication for what they’re doing.
The explanation that was so is as a result of Wisconsin is an absolute battleground state. It’s extremely intently divided. Within the final seven elections, 5 — for president of america, 5 have been determined by beneath 30,000 votes. So it is a state the place issues are often very, very shut. Nevertheless it wasn’t that means on Tuesday. Susan Crawford did win by the higher a part of 200,000 votes. She did win that 55-45 victory. And what’s maybe most important is she gained communities in areas of the state that had voted for Trump simply 5 months in the past in a really, very high-turnout election. So, as I counsel, I simply don’t suppose you possibly can overestimate the importance. It is a enormous sign from a battleground state that People are genuinely upset, genuinely indignant, I feel, with Trump and with Musk.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, John, that wasn’t the one race in Wisconsin. There was additionally an election for state superintendent of public instruction. What occurred there?
JOHN NICHOLS: Properly, you’re positive — you’re precisely proper, Juan. And the race for superintendent of public instruction, which is the state’s prime training job and is a really vital job — it’s the put up that present Governor Tony Evers held earlier than he grew to become governor — was intensely fought. It was a battle between the incumbent, Jill Underly, who has been an absolute supporter of public training — she’s a former rural educator — versus a girl named Brittany Kinser, who was supported by the Republicans and who was supported by advocates for voucher applications that might take cash out of public training. Very clear alternative. Kinser had loads of sources. She was backed by loads of the identical campaigners that had been on the market for Brad Schimel within the Supreme Court docket race. And Jill Underly gained. It wasn’t fairly as massive a victory because the Supreme Court docket race, however it was a roughly a 53-47 victory — a really clear, strong win. So, in each statewide races within the battleground state of Wisconsin, the progressive — the clearly progressive candidates gained.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, John, may you touch upon the ends in the 2 congressional particular elections in Florida?
JOHN NICHOLS: Positive. These are essential elections, as a result of, you understand, particular elections within the first weeks of a brand new president’s time period typically give us a sign of, you understand, form of the place sentiment goes. Now, these had been closely gerrymandered districts. They had been designed to elect Republicans. There was no query of that. And the prospect {that a} Democrat would really win one among these seats was, you understand, fairly hopeful on the a part of any Democrat who thought that might occur. Nevertheless, there was an enormous shift in each of the Florida districts towards the Democratic candidates, each of whom, by the best way, weren’t well-known individuals per se or significantly highly effective figures, and so they had been operating towards very distinguished officers in Florida on the Republican aspect. And but what we noticed is that counties in rural and extra city Florida, that had really been fairly supportive of Trump, in some circumstances shifted towards the Democrats.
And general, it was a consequence that I feel Democrats can level to and do a classy evaluation. Primarily, what they should say is that this: “Look, these weren’t districts that we had been going to win, however these are districts the place you might get a measure of the place the sentiment is shifting in america.” And that’s what I might say. Keep in mind, we’ve loads of congressional districts throughout the U.S. that Republicans maintain, however which are a lot, rather more intently divided. It will be a better run for the Democrat. So, if you happen to see this type of shift in districts throughout the nation in 2026, there’s merely no query that the Democrats would take the Home of Representatives.
AMY GOODMAN: So, once more, these had been two particular elections in Florida for the seats of the embattled nationwide safety adviser Mike Waltz and for Gaetz, who was named as legal professional normal, nominated by Trump, however then, in the end, needed to pull out and pull out of Congress round varied drug and intercourse scandals. However I needed to return to Wisconsin for one minute and ask not solely the importance for the nation — I imply, if you happen to take what Elon Musk stated, he stated it’s for the way forward for Western civilization, however his candidate was defeated — however what this implies, for instance, specifically, about abortion rights, because the Democrats hold the bulk on the Wisconsin state Supreme Court docket, John.
JOHN NICHOLS: Positive. In Wisconsin, it was a really, very clear alternative. Susan Crawford has been a really robust supporter of abortion rights for a very long time. Along with being up to now a lawyer for labor unions, she was a lawyer in circumstances introduced by Deliberate Parenthood. And so, there was no query of the place she stood on the difficulty, and he or she put it entrance and heart in her marketing campaign. Then again, Brad Schimel is a longtime Republican politician who had been very intently related to the anti-choice place and, actually, was backed by ardent advocates of a ban on abortion rights. And so, the selection couldn’t have been clearer.
And I feel that there are at all times individuals who wish to inform you that abortion is fading as a difficulty, that as time passes, you understand, maybe it’s not as resonant. However after I was speaking to voters yesterday, I used to be struck by the very robust turnout of younger voters. I used to be at a polling place on the College of Wisconsin campus shortly earlier than the polls closed, and there have been actually younger ladies operating in to solid their vote, making an attempt to make it in time, you understand, earlier than the closing of the polls. And in speaking to those of us, you discovered various them had been placing the difficulty of abortion rights very excessive on their listing. So, I feel it continues to be a really resonant situation.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: I needed to ask you about all this cash that Elon Musk is pouring into these political campaigns. I imply, speak about taking Residents United, the Supreme Court docket resolution, placing it on steroids. Your sense of the legality of all of this, of providing one million {dollars} to explicit voters?
JOHN NICHOLS: Positive. Musk’s spending and the best way he did his spending has been extremely controversial in Wisconsin. The legal professional normal did deliver an motion towards him. Different authorized teams have been elevating this situation. It didn’t get litigated earlier than the election, however I don’t suppose there’s any query that there’s going to be a seamless examination of how Musk spent his cash and of actual questions of whether or not there have been violations of Wisconsin election legislation.
However there’s one thing deeper as regards all this, Juan. Even when it was authorized, what we have to perceive is that we had a state of affairs in Wisconsin the place the wealthiest man on the earth tried to purchase an election. He poured his cash in, as roughly $25 million, along with all these different gimmicks, all these different stunts. And I feel that loads of political analysts would have informed you, “Properly, that’s going to win, as a result of cash wins in politics.” However that didn’t occur in Wisconsin. So, after we discuss in regards to the significance of this, past the legalities, there’s a political significance. The message out of Wisconsin is that Musk’s cash doesn’t win.
And that message issues for Democrats, clearly, going into the 2025 fall elections, in addition to the 2026 midterm elections. It additionally issues for Republicans in Congress, as a result of there’s no query Elon Musk has tried to intimidate them by threatening to make use of his cash to punish any Republican that stands as much as Donald Trump’s agenda. Properly, now these Republicans have a counternarrative, one other piece of data, which says that, yeah, perhaps Musk’s cash may shield you in a main, however it won’t be sufficient to guard you in a normal election. And so, we’ve acquired a really vital sign out of Wisconsin about cash in politics, on the whole, and about Elon Musk’s cash, specifically.
AMY GOODMAN: I imply, it’s exceptional that one among Elon Musk’s $1 million recipients went to the chairman of the Wisconsin Faculty Republicans, an individual who had labored for Ron Johnson, to get him elected, and within the fall of 2024 labored for Turning Level Motion, Charlie Kirk’s group.
However I wish to flip to Texas for one minute, as we wrap up. In an interview with The New York Instances, Democratic Home Minority Chief Hakeem Jeffries accused Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott of slow-walking a particular election to switch Congressmember Sylvester Turner in Houston, who died final month. That is actually vital. I imply, it seems to be like Abbott just isn’t going to name a particular election, at the very least at this level, however will hold it open, this seat, which might almost certainly go to Democrat, representing Houston, after all, till the November 2026 election. We simply have 30 seconds.
JOHN NICHOLS: Positive. I’ve written about these points so much up to now, governors enjoying with particular election dates. It’s an absolute assault on democracy. We have to perceive that congressional seats, Home seats, are crammed in elections. They aren’t appointed. And so, when you have got a governor of 1 social gathering saying, “We’re not going to let individuals elect a successor to a member who has handed away,” that governor is saying that “I’m going to depart you, the individuals of a significant American metropolis, unrepresented for the higher a part of a 12 months and a half.” It’s completely unacceptable, and Texans must be elevating an outcry about what Governor Abbott seems to be doing.
AMY GOODMAN: John Nichols, we thanks for being with us, The Nation’s nationwide affairs correspondent. We’ll hyperlink to your varied articles at democracynow.org.
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