The Wisconsin Supreme Court election holds warning signs for Republicans following the loss of their candidate, Brad Schimel, to Susan Crawford.
The swing state of Wisconsin held a national election on April Fool’s day. The liberal Democrat won that election. Lest anyone think it was done in jest, the election results demonstrate five dynamics of which Republicans must take notice.
On its face, Wisconsin held a statewide election for a seat on the state’s Supreme Court. The Democrats held onto the seat by defeating a conservative and maintained left-of-center control of the state’s Supreme Court – nothing new.
Beneath the surface, however, other dynamics were at play. Here are six of those significant dynamics, which Republicans need to take to heart.
6. Democrats Continue to Leverage Abortion.
One of the key issues in the election was the issue of abortion. The Democratic candidate Susan Crawford leveraged that issue. On the day of the election, the following was a headline out of Milwaukee: “Wisconsin Supreme Court race in political spotlight, abortion rights on the line.” Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Democrats have won a series of elections on that issue in both Red and Blue states. Wisconsin should remind Republicans that they have yet to find a way to win over voters on that issue.
5. All Elections Are National.
There was a time when all politics were local. Today, the Democrats treat all elections as national. While it is true Elon Musk played big in the Wisconsin race, just days before the election, 77% of Susan Crawford’s donations came from out of state. That was on top of huge donations from the likes of George Soros, who “donated $2 million to the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, which then gave the money to Crawford’s campaign . . . [and] Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, also a billionaire, gave $1.5 million to the state Democratic Party for Crawford’s campaign.”
That dynamic is not new. Last fall, in Orange County, California, which used to be deep Red Country, the Democrats spent $48 million on a single House seat that they won by several hundred votes. The vast majority of that money came from out-of-state. In Florida, Democrat Josh Weil received donations from all 50 states, plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico en route to out fundraising his Republican opponent 10 – 1.
4. Elon Musk Is the Democrats’ Bogey Man.
The day after the election, NBC posted this headline: “Democrats have a new boogeyman in Elon Musk.”
In politics, it is define or be defined.
Republicans strongly support the mission of DOGE, as do independents and many Democrats. However, Democrats have tarred Musk and are using it to their advantage.
Republicans must take that as a warning that they must undertake a massive public relations effort lest the DOGE mission get lost in the smears. Principally, Republicans must tie DOGE’s efforts to root out fraud and waste with saving Medicare and Social Security.
They literally should promote a fundraising chart that equates each dollar saved with restored Social Security and Medicare benefits.
3. Trump and the Ballot.
In history, it is well known that the party that wins the White House has trouble in off-year elections. The winning party most often is not as motivated as the losing party.
Trump’s success is principally tied to the fact that so many voters believe he is fighting for them. Simply stated, Republicans in Congress do NOT have that reputation.
As the midterm Elections approach and then the 2028 Presidential Election, Republicans can’t be the party of Washington if they expect to prevail.
2. The Economy.
The border. Women’s sports. Government waste. Judges. Deportations. Those are all important issues. Those issues helped turn the swing states. However, Trump has largely resolved those issues even as the Democrats continue to harm their poll numbers fighting him. By next November, naturally, they will slip from voters’ priorities.
That leaves the economy, which is already proving to be a weak point for Republicans. Further delays in deregulation and tax reform and any fallout in tariff policy will limit Republicans in swing states like Wisconsin. The sooner they produce economic results the better.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION
1. The Campaign Never Ends.
In the 24/7/365 technological/internet media era, the campaign never stops – even if you win and are in power.
As for the Democrats, despite being tone-deaf in the last election, they are now harping on how Republican policies are affecting middle-class voters and those even less fortunate. Republicans can decry their sudden shift all they want. By next November, however, Democrats will get credit for their shift. Once again, that highlights the importance of Republicans moving quickly on Trump’s economic reforms.
Finally, as the Wisconsin race proved once again, elections are about turnout. It appears that the Republican in the Wisconsin election garnered more votes than any Democratic candidate for Supreme Court in Wisconsin history – but still lost by 10 points.
That didn’t happen on election day. That was months of Democrat work, along with mail-in-ballots. Simply stated, for them, the campaign never ends. Republicans appear to be already behind in their efforts for 2026.