Liberal Supreme Court candidate Susan Crawford during a Milwaukee luncheon said she was “glad” about a state Dem Party campaign to counter millions of spending by groups tied to Elon Musk.
In response to a reporter’s question at an event Tuesday organized by WisPolitics, the Milwaukee Press Club and the Milwaukee Rotary Club, Crawford said she hadn’t heard about the effort, but expressed support for it.
“You know, I am glad that they’re engaged and that they are calling out Musk’s campaign, because, as I said, I think it’s really concerning, should be concerning to the people of Wisconsin that you have literally the richest man in the world wading into a state judicial race and trying to dominate the airwaves with these false attack ads,” she said. “So, you know, I’m glad that somebody is doing something about it.”
The Dem Party’s seven-figure campaign will include town hall events hosted by state Dem leaders, door-to-door canvassing, relational organizing, earned media events and paid digital advertising targeting Democrats.
The campaign includes a new website, peoplevmusk.com, encouraging Wisconsinites to share how “the chaos caused by Elon Musk, Donald Trump, and MAGA Republicans” has impacted their lives, donate to and volunteer for the party. It also includes social media posts for users to share online.
The effort also includes a digital ad saying Musk wants to “buy the Wisconsin Supreme Court.” The ad features several clips of Musk making a gesture widely criticized for resembling a Nazi salute.
Musk’s Building America’s Future and America PAC, also tied to Musk, have invested millions backing conservative Brad Schimel in his bid against liberal Dane County Circuit Court Judge Susan Crawford. Schimel is a Waukesha County judge and former Republican AG.
At the event, Crawford, a Dane County judge, fielded a series of questions from journalists and the audience. Schimel will appear at a March 18 event with the group.
While she slammed the millions of dollars organizations tied to Musk are putting into the race, Crawford welcomed the efforts of “legitimate organizations” spending on her behalf.
“If legitimate organizations and obviously, individuals, want to support my campaign through financial resources, I welcome it because, you know, frankly, we need to be able to get our message out and counter some of the lies and misrepresentations of my record,” she said.
Also during the Milwaukee event, Crawford slammed Schimel’s reported comment last month that the Wisconsin Supreme Court “screwed over” Trump, saying it “shows that he’s about partisanship.”
The Washington Post reported Monday that Schimel at a GOP event in Jefferson County said a Trump endorsement is likely in the race because “one thing he doesn’t do is forget people that screw him over, and the Wisconsin Supreme Court screwed him over.”
The report indicated his campaign said Schimel was referring to the court’s decision to keep Green Party presidential candidate Howie Hawkins off the 2020 ballot. Hawkins was seen as a potential spoiler to Joe Biden, who ended up winning Wisconsin by 20,682 votes.
“It shows that he’s about partisanship, politics and special interests, and not about being a fair, impartial member of the court,” Crawford said.
While she said it’s appropriate for candidates to express opinions about past cases, as she took issue with the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, Schimel’s comment was made through a partisan lens.
“I think that the way he phrased it as the court screwing over the Trump administration is a really partisan lens and not a legal one, which I think is the more appropriate one to use when you’re running for judicial office,” Crawford said.
Schimel campaign spokesperson Jacob Fischer accused Crawford of “spreading falsehoods” during her appearance.
“Susan Crawford continued her campaign of hoodwinking Wisconsin voters today by spreading falsehoods and pushing the radical agenda of her Democrat handlers to a sympathetic press,” Fischer said in a statement. “What Crawford should have been pressed on was her weak on crime penchant for releasing pedophiles and murderers back onto Wisconsin streets, her willingness to offer two congressional seats in exchange for financial support, or how she sold out her objectivity to the agendas of George Soros, Bernie Sanders, and other extreme liberals.”
Watch WisconsinEye video of the event.
