Democratic-supported candidate Susan Crawford emerges victorious: The importance of the Wisconsin Supreme Court race

With the Democratic Party's endorsement, Susan Crawford won Tuesday night's closely watched Wisconsin Supreme Court contest, which has turned into the most expensive judicial election in American history. Liberals were able to maintain their majority on the court when Crawford defeated her conservative opponent, Brad Schimel, who was backed by President Donald Trump.

With the goal of filling a single seat on the state Supreme Court, the election received over $90 million in funding, breaking the previous record of over $51 million set in 2023. Notably, Trump's billionaire ally Elon Musk made the biggest donation, with his affiliated organizations spending about $20 million.

In a pivotal battleground state that Trump won by less than one percentage point in November 2024, this election, the first since his return to the White House, was seen as an early gauge of public sentiment toward the president.

How do US state Supreme Court justices get chosen?

All states initially chose justices through legislative or gubernatorial appointments after the US gained its independence. According to a report by The Conversation, by the 1800s, however, some states had started to institute elections for judges because they were worried that judges were putting the interests of the governors and lawmakers who appointed them ahead of the general public's.

As a result, different states in the US have different procedures for appointing new members to state Supreme Courts, which are similar to India's high courts. A nominating commission, a confirmation vote by another elected body, or both may be required in some states when a governor appoints justices.

Other states choose partisan elections, legislative elections, or nonpartisan elections (in which the political affiliations of judges are not listed on the ballot). While South Carolina and Virginia choose their justices through legislative elections, Wisconsin's Supreme Court races are nonpartisan. In New Mexico's hybrid judicial system, justices are chosen by the governor and then run in partisan elections.

Who were the contenders for the Wisconsin Supreme Court seat?

Schimel, a conservative judge from Waukesha County and a former Republican state attorney general, squared off against Crawford, a liberal judge from Dane County who had previously held high-profile positions under a Democratic governor.

Former President Barack Obama and the Wisconsin Democratic Party endorsed Crawford. George Soros, a liberal philanthropist and investor, and Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn, provided financial support for her campaign.

Trump supported Schimel and threw a rally to help the county judge's campaign. Musk recently invited Schimel to participate in an audio livestream on X, his social media platform. This race was the first major national assessment of voter sentiment toward Trump and his policies in a swing state since he was elected to a second term last year.

Furthermore, whether Wisconsin will change its congressional map—which currently permits Republicans to hold six of the state's eight seats in the U.S. House of Representatives—may depend on the court's future rulings. Wisconsin's current congressional districts, according to Democrats, give Republicans an unfair advantage.

The court is anticipated to hear a number of well-known cases at the state level, one of which challenges the legality of an 1849 law that would essentially outlaw abortion. Another significant case concerns public sector unions' rights to collective bargaining.

A case involving the amendment of Wisconsin's Constitution to require voter identification is also anticipated to be heard by the state Supreme Court. To make it more difficult for a court to declare the voter ID law unconstitutional in the future, state voters on Tuesday approved a referendum indicating that this requirement should be enshrined in the Constitution.