Ron Johnson Says ‘We Have to Thank Elon’ If Schimel Wins Wisconsin

During an online forum with Elon Musk to promote conservative Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel, Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson said “we have to thank Elon” if Schimel wins the April 1 election.

The forum, during which Musk and Schimel also spoke, took place Saturday on Musk’s social media platform X. Early voting has already begun for the Wisconsin Supreme Court election, which will determine the ideological balance of the court just two years after liberals captured the majority.

Political action committees with ties to Musk have spent at least $11 million helping Schimel, a Waukesha County judge, in his race against liberal Dane County Judge Susan Crawford. More recently, Musk gave $2 million directly to the Republican Party of Wisconsin.

Throughout the 30-minute Saturday forum, Musk claimed that if Crawford wins, the court’s liberal majority will try to redraw Wisconsin’s congressional voting maps in order to weaken Republicans’ majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.

“That’s the most important thing, which is a big deal given that the congressional majority is so razor thin,” Musk said. “It could cause the House to switch to Democrat, if that redrawing takes place, and then we won’t be able to get through the changes that the American people want.”

Republicans currently hold a 218-213 majority in the U.S. House, with four vacant districts. In Wisconsin, the GOP has a 6-2 edge, but some Democrats think a more competitive map could easily help Democrats flip two Republican seats, making the state’s delegation 4-4.

Musk has been a lightning rod during President Donald Trump’s first months in office. He’s the face of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which has initiated unilateral efforts to gut federal agencies, cut federal funding previously approved by Congress and fire tens of thousands of federal employees.

Musk also used the forum to complain about federal judges, who are appointed to lifetime terms, issuing injunctions blocking several Trump policy moves, like ending birthright citizenship. Musk said the good thing about Wisconsin’s high court is that justices are elected, “so there is a very good feedback loop for the people to decide” whether a judge should stay.

“On the federal level, we’ve got a bigger challenge, because judges are essentially appointed for life, which I think is something we should reconsider,” Musk said.

Musk’s PAC recently began paying people $100 in Wisconsin for signing a petition against “activist judges.”

A statement from Crawford’s campaign described the X event as “Elon Musk’s check-in with his $12 million investment.”

“Musk wants a lackey on the Supreme Court who will rule in his company’s favor on their lawsuit against the State of Wisconsin,” said Crawford campaign spokesperson Derrick Honeyman. “Wisconsinites don’t want this slimy and corrupt billionaire running our Supreme Court.”

Schimel describes Trump’s reelection as ‘hostages’ giving ‘sign of life’

Schimel agreed with Musk’s claim about liberal Wisconsin justices wanting to redraw congressional districts, pointing to Crawford’s participation in a January call with Democratic donors advertised as a “chance to put two more House seats in play” for the state’s 2026 midterm elections. He said state justices’ 10-year terms are “darn near a lifetime.”

“It’s very hard to undo this if we have an activist judge win who wants to impose their own views rather than the law written by the Legislature,” Schimel said of Crawford. “So, the stakes couldn’t be higher here.”

Liberals have controlled the Wisconsin Supreme Court since August 2023. Months after liberal Justice Janet Protasiewicz was sworn in, the new majority declared Republican-drawn state legislative voting maps unconstitutional. That led to Republican lawmakers passing new maps drawn by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in early 2024. Under those maps, Democrats were able to flip 14 seats in the Legislature, including four seats in the Wisconsin Senate, winnowing the GOP’s 22-10 supermajority in that chamber to 18-15.

Schimel told Musk it had been a “great 24 hours” for him, thanks to endorsements from Trump and former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre. He said conservatives in Wisconsin are “finally awake.” And he likened Trump’s November win in Wisconsin to a “sign of life.”

“Like in the movie with the hostage-taking, where you want to hear the hostage’s voice before you pay the ransom,” Schimel said. “Well, we’ve heard the hostages’ voices, and we’re alive.”

Johnson praises Musk’s involvement in race

Johnson praised Musk’s new involvement in national and state politics multiple times during the online chat. He said Musk’s financing of canvassers in Wisconsin during the presidential race made Trump the “record vote getter” in the state. Musk’s groups are now canvassing for Schimel.

Johnson said conservatives’ last Supreme Court candidate was only able to get around 800,000 votes in 2023, but with Musk’s help, he said Republicans can “easily get more than 1.2 million votes.”

“So, this is entirely winnable,” Johnson said. “And you know, if we do win it again, we have to thank Elon for all the support he’s given this race.”

Musk said Republicans “kind of have a disadvantage” because a lot of Democrats “are just full-time activists” while Republicans are more focused on their jobs and their families. Musk said that’s why it’s important for Republicans to remind their friends and family members the April election “might determine the future of the entire country.”

“That’s why it’s important to do,” Musk said. “Because we wouldn’t be bothering people otherwise.”

Listen to the WPR report

Ron Johnson says ‘we have to thank Elon’ if Brad Schimel wins Wisconsin Supreme Court race was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.