Elon Musk Hands Out Two $1 million Checks at Green Bay Rally

One of the world’s richest people handed out a pair of million-dollar checks to two Wisconsin voters at a rally Sunday, part of his efforts to swing the state Supreme Court race.

Before billionaire Elon Musk’s event inside a convention center in Green Bay, a group of hundreds gathered outside to protest his spending millions on the race and his work to reshape federal agencies on behalf of President Donald Trump.

The Tesla CEO’s event came just two days before the closely-watched state Supreme Court election between conservative Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel and liberal Dane County Judge Susan Crawford.

The race is technically nonpartisan, but Republicans back Schimel and Democrats back Crawford. The election will determine the ideological balance of the court, which currently has a 4-3 liberal majority.

Musk and the groups connected to him have already given more than $20 million to support Schimel. Although Crawford has her own big donors, the overall amount spent by Musk and affiliated PACs has made him the largest financial player in the race.

Speaking to more than 1,000 people Sunday, Musk said one of the reasons he’s gotten involved in the race is because a new state Supreme Court could redraw Wisconsin’s congressional maps at a time when Republicans have a razor-thin majority in the House of Representatives. He said the race could have major implications for the future of “America and the world.”

“Whichever party controls the House to a significant degree controls the country, which then steers the course of Western civilization. I feel like this is one of those things that may not seem that it’s going to affect the entire destiny of humanity, but I think it will,” Musk told the crowd.

Ahead of Sunday, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul sued to block Musk from handing out $1 million checks, arguing it was an illegal and “blatant attempt” to violate the state’s ban on election bribery. The state Supreme Court on Sunday declined to block the giveaway, after an appeals court had a similar decision on Saturday.

Musk gave over-sized $1 million checks to Ekaterina Diestler and Nicholas Jacobs. According to their social media profiles, Jacobs is the chair of the Wisconsin College Republicans, while Diestler is a graphic designer.

Musk said he decided to award the checks to “get attention” and said getting people to understand the importance of the race is conservatives’ “single biggest challenge.”

“We need to get attention,” he said. “Somewhat inevitably, when I do these things, it causes the legacy media to kind of lose their minds.”

Musk’s spending in the race has come as his electric vehicle company has sued the state over a decision that blocked it from opening dealerships in Wisconsin. It’s a case that could reach the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Musk did not address the lawsuit during his town hall on Sunday.

Despite the event largely being framed as being held on his behalf, Schimel did not address the crowd. He told reporters on Friday he had “no plans to be there” and that he found out about Musk’s visit in the press that morning.

Musk, Republican officials defend DOGE cuts

Musk has been one of Trump’s top advisors so far into his second term. Through his work leading the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, Musk has helped oversee the firing of tens and thousands of federal workers, the abrupt defunding of government programs and reiterated his goal of cutting $1 trillion in federal spending.

“There is a tremendous amount of waste and fraud in the federal government,” Musk said Sunday.

But analysis from NPR and The New York Times both found that DOGE’s reported cost-savings claims have been inaccurate and overstated.

Musk was joined by Wisconsin Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson and U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, a Republican who represented the state’s 7th Congressional District from 2011 to 2019.

Duffy said the state Supreme Court race could have national implications, framing a Schimel loss as a rebuke of Trump.

“If you all turn out on Tuesday with your friends, we are going to win in Wisconsin and send a message to the radical left: Don’t mess with Trump, don’t mess with DOGE, don’t mess with Elon and don’t mess with Wisconsin,” Duffy told the crowd.

Protesters say Musk is trying to buy state Supreme Court seat

Green Bay resident Brooke Buege was one of hundreds of people who showed up to protest outside the event. She said she think’s Musk is trying to buy a seat on Wisconsin’s Supreme Court.

“Having the richest man, who isn’t even elected, who is manipulating our government and also trying to buy our state election — it’s disgusting,” Buege said.

She also called the cuts DOGE has made to the federal government “terrifying.” She said the cuts have come “without caring about the side effects.”

“They don’t actually care about the well-being of the people,” she said.

Cathi Oreto, another Green Bay resident, said she doesn’t believe Musk should be so financially involved in state politics.

“Brad Schimel, he could be bought. But we can’t be bought, and we won’t be,” she said. “We won’t sit down for the richest man in the world to come and try to butt in where he doesn’t belong.”

Oreto says her husband is a Canadian citizen who is a legal resident. She says their family has been living with more anxiety since the start of the second Trump term after he campaigned on threats of mass deportations.

“We used to joke about the fact that he’s Canadian and English-speaking, so it shouldn’t be an issue,” she said. “And then all of a sudden, it could be an issue.”

Ana Wilson, a member of the college democrats at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, said she attended the rally to show that Musk can’t buy the race. She says abortion rights are one of her top issues this election, and she’s worried an 1849 abortion ban could go back on the books if Schimel wins.

“I really want women, young women, to choose for themselves,” Wilson said. “I don’t believe a man in power should be the one to choose.”

Supporters welcome Musk’s campaign spending

Dan Ammerman of DePere attended Musk’s event. He said he’s a “big supporter of President Trump” and believes Trump’s second term actions are “getting us on the right track.” That includes Musk’s involvement in the administration.

“We’ve got to control government spending,” he said. “We just can’t continue to spend at this rate. We’ve got to make some pretty big cuts, so I’m really pleased with what [Musk is] doing.”

Bryce Schraeder, a Gen Z voter from West Bend, said he was curious about Trump’s movement, but Musk’s support for Trump helped push him into the Make America Great Again Movement.

“Elon kind of made it more fun to be into this because he’s kind of memeable,” Schraeder said.

Clint Krejcarek, a 22-year-old from Campbellsport, attended the town hall with Schraeder. He says he isn’t worried about the 1849 abortion law, which would effectively ban the procedure in Wisconsin.

“People like to say, ‘Oh, well, Brad Schimel would uphold this 1849 abortion ban,’” Krejcarek said. “They kind of imply that because it’s from 1849 that it’s somehow an archaic law and shouldn’t be followed. But it’s on the books — it’s a law.”

The Schimel campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Musk’s event.

In a statement, Crawford campaign spokesperson Derrick Honeyman said Musk cares about the state Supreme Court race because “Schimel is for sale” and “has always looked out for his campaign donors.”

“Schimel would guarantee Musk’s companies have favorable rulings,” Honeyman stated, “and he’ll rubber stamp an extreme agenda that includes banning abortion, restricting voting rights, and stripping health care coverage.”

Listen to the WPR report

Elon Musk says Wisconsin Supreme Court race could affect the ‘entire destiny of humanity’ was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.