LoginHas Elon Muskβs PAC in the 2025 Wisconsin Supreme Court race set the record for outside spending on state court elections?
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Yes.
The Elon Muskβfounded America PAC has spent at least $11.5 million on the April 1 Wisconsin Supreme Court election, WisPolitics reported March 24.
That doesnβt count another $3 million the PAC gave to the Wisconsin Republican Party, which can funnel unlimited funds to candidates.
Both support conservative candidate Brad Schimel over liberal Susan Crawford.
The nonprofit campaign finance tracker OpenSecrets tracks cumulative independent group spending in state supreme court and appellate court races through 2024.
Its figures indicate the biggest spender nationally is the Citizens for Judicial Fairness, which spent a total of $11.4 million in the 2020 and 2022 Illinois court races.
OpenSecretsβ data cover about two-thirds of the states; not all states report independent expenditures.
The progressive A Better Wisconsin Together has spent $9.2 million on ads backing Crawford, according to ad tracker AdImpact.
Wisconsin Democratic Party chair Ben Wikler said March 18 he believed Muskβs spending might be a national record.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
- WisPolitics: Monday AM Update β 24 March 2025
- America PAC: Website home page
- New York Times: Musk Seeks to Put $100 Million Directly Into Trump Political Operation
- Wall Street Journal: Elon Musk Gave Tens of Millions to Republican Causes Far Earlier Than Previously Known
- New York Times: Republican Operatives Function as Hidden Hand Behind Pro-Trump Efforts
- A Better Wisconsin Together: Website home page
- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Here are the groups behind the heavy spending in Wisconsin's Supreme Court race
- IllinoisSunshine.org: Citizens for Judicial Fairness
- OpenSecrets: Email, March 24, 2025
- WisPolitics: Monday PM Update β 24 March 2025
- Brian Taylor Cohen: Elon Musk caught pulling bombshell stunt to meddle in key election
- WisPolitics: Tuesday AM Update β 25 March 2025
- AdImpact: Email, March 24, 2025
Has Elon Muskβs PAC in the 2025 Wisconsin Supreme Court race set the record for outside spending on state court elections? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.
