On Tuesday night, as we covered at the time, the Wisconsin Supreme Court race was called in favor of Susan Crawford, a liberal judge backed heavily by the Democrats and also billionaire George Soros. Democrats, leading up to the vote and in celebrating their victory, chose to ignore the Soros factor, though they still focused on Elon Musk's support for Republican Brad Schimel. They even had a helping hand with their narrative from allies in the mainstream media, specifically ABC News.
In a breaking news post over X from Tuesday night, the outlet phrased it as how "Democratic-backed Susan Crawford will win over GOP- and Elon Musk-backed Brad Schimel in Wisconsin Supreme Court race," which is indeed the case. While there's mention of Musk, there's no mention of the billionaires who supported Crawford, in this case, Soros. Further, the out-of-state spending was rather noteworthy.
BREAKING: Democratic-backed Susan Crawford will win over GOP- and Elon Musk-backed Brad Schimel in Wisconsin Supreme Court race, AP projects. https://t.co/yBsxmQ4plq
— ABC News (@ABC) April 2, 2025
The actual lengthy piece isn't much better. Musk is featured at the start and throughout the article. As he's mentioned in part throughout the article, starting from the second paragraph:
While the race is technically nonpartisan, it became the center of a political firestorm, as well as the target of millions spent by groups linked to tech billionaire and key Trump adviser Elon Musk, who supported Republican-backed Brad Schimel.
...
The race was also seen as a preview of how voters in the battleground state feel a few months into Trump's second term -- especially as Musk and his work with the federal government through the Department of Government Efficiency becomes a key issue given his groups' investments in the race.
Musk continued to push the idea that the Wisconsin election matters because of how potential redistricting cases could impact the balance of power in the House of Representatives. He claimed to Fox News without offering proof that if the conservative candidate loses, Republicans could lose their majority in the House because Wisconsin's congressional districts would be redrawn.
"Well, the reason tonight's elections are so important is that the judge race will decide whether the Wisconsin district, districts get redrawn. They're kind of trying to gerrymander Wisconsin to remove two Republican seats. And as you know, the -- the House is currently Republican by a razor thin margin, which means that losing this judge race has good chance of causing Republicans to lose control of the House," Musk said.
...
"That is why it is so significant, and whichever party controls the House, to a significant degree, controls the country which then steers the course of Western civilization," Musk said at a high-profile town hall on Sunday in Green Bay.
...
On Sunday, the tech billionaire also controversially gave away two $1 million checks to attendees at a rally in his latest effort to support Schimel.
Schimel is a former state attorney general and a circuit court judge in Waukesha County. He received almost $20 million in support (such as spending for TV ads) as of Monday from groups linked to Musk, per a tally by the Brennan Center for Justice.
Schimel has also received endorsements from Trump, Musk, Donald Trump Jr., and other key conservative figures.
This is yet another way in which ABC News looks to be doing Democrats' work for them in such a race. As Townhall has been covering leading up to the election, Crawford's win could very well mean that two Republicans will have their seats redistricted out of existence, which remains a concern with Republicans having such a narrow majority in the House. It's why the race has received national attention. It's also not merely Townhall, Musk, or Fox News claiming so.
Rep. Derrick Van Orden, a Republican representing the state's 3rd Congressional District, expressed concern to CNN's Manu Raju that his seat, as well as fellow Republican Rep. Bryan Steil, who represents the 1st Congressional District, would be at risk.
GOP Rep. Derrick Van Orden predicted he and Rep Bryan Steil would end up losing their seats if Dem-backed Susan Crawford wins the WI Supreme Court race — because of redistricting.
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) April 2, 2025
“We both lose,” he told me. “So that's why everyone's paying attention to this on a national level”
Further, the article goes on to quote Crawford extensively elsewhere throughout the article as well, including her concerns about how Schimel would handle cases involving Musk.
While the piece does mention how Crawford represented Planned Parenthood, which is merely described as "an organization supporting abortion access," when it performs more abortions than any entity in the country, there isn't the same concern when it comes to Crawford and cases to do with the abortion giant.
While Soros and the other billionaires supporting Crawford are mentioned, it isn't until towards the end, the 10th to last paragraph of an article approximately 40 paragraphs long. It's also one paragraph, in contrast to the 11 that mention Musk:
Major liberal donors such as Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Democratic donor George Soros have given money to the Wisconsin Democratic Party, and the state party has donated $2 million to Crawford. The national Democratic Party has also invested in the race. She also has the endorsements of former President Barack Obama and former Vice President Kamala Harris.
It's also worth mentioning that not all hope is lost, as voters resoundingly support voter ID. With over 95 percent of the vote reporting, voters agreed with the ballot initiative, by a margin of 62.8 percent-37.3 percent. Only Madison and Milwaukee, two particularly liberal counties, rejected it. That is a much larger margin than how Crawford won, though the initiative isn't mentioned until the fourth to last paragraph of the article.
The ABC News post shared to X has 250 replies so far taking issue with the framing, with plenty of quoted replies expressing the same concern.
The outlet isn't the only one mentioning Musk and/or billionaires in such an ironic way. Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), the failed and poorly vetted running mate for then Vice President Kamala Harris, as well as actor Bradley Whitford, referenced the money involved, with a focus on Musk. Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) and Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL) also brought up Musk in their posts.
Wisconsin beat the billionaire.
— Tim Walz (@Tim_Walz) April 2, 2025
Turns out you can’t buy Wisconsin.
— Bradley Whitford (@bradleywhitford) April 2, 2025
Another reminder that money can’t buy you love, @elonmusk.
— Bradley Whitford (@bradleywhitford) April 2, 2025
Wisconsin is a hard no on Elon buying their election.
— Tina Smith (@TinaSmithMN) April 2, 2025
.@elonmusk continues to show us that money can’t buy you happiness or the 2025 Wisconsin Supreme Court Race 👍🏾
— Maxwell Alejandro Frost (@MaxwellFrostFL) April 2, 2025
DNC Chairman Ken Martin posted an image of a giant cheesehead crushing a Tesla. This is particularly alarming, considering the acts of domestic terrorism being carried out against Tesla dealerships, which Democrats have largely failed to condemn.
Enough said. Musk is a loser. pic.twitter.com/XTD9RcO4yM
— Ken Martin (@kenmartin73) April 2, 2025
On a lighter note, the Babylon Bee got in on mocking Democrats for ignoring Soros' role, with a headline declaring how "Wisconsin Dems Gather At George Soros's House To Celebrate Defeating The Billionaires."
Wisconsin Dems Gather At George Soros's House To Celebrate Defeating The Billionaires https://t.co/BJYNTh6Fm4 pic.twitter.com/feWklCuzcI
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) April 2, 2025
Editor's Note: Every single day, here at Townhall, we will stand up and FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT against the radical left and deliver the conservative reporting our readers deserve.
Help us continue to tell the truth about the Trump administration and its major wins. Join Townhall VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member