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Elon Musk was roundly mocked on social media after attempting to spin his defeat in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race into a win for voters’ rights.
“This was the most important thing,” Musk posted on X in response to a post confirming that Question 1, which adds a voter ID requirement to the state’s Constitution had passed.
That was already the law in Wisconsin, and Question 1 just protected it in the state’s Constitution. However, Musk had long focused on the state’s Supreme Court race and talked little about Question 1. He often posted on social media about the dangers or electing a liberal judge and poured $25 million into the state to support the conservative candidate.
However, Musk’s pick lost to the liberal candidate.
That led to Musk’s post on X downplaying the loss – and the round of mocking that followed.
“You failed, you couldn’t buy the vote. That was the most important thing,” wrote one user in response to his post.
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Others recalled other statements Musk had made in the lead up to election day.
“Hahahahahahaha…. You said the fate of western civilization depended on the Supreme Court race and now you are coping hard. This has been the law in Wisconsin since 2016!!!” wrote another user.
Another added: “So this (which has already been a law in WI for over a decade) is what you meant by saving Western Civilization? There was no actual race where you spent all the millions trying to buy it?”
“That why you spent $25 million on the other thing?” another user asked.
The DOGE leader had also traveled to Wisconsin two days before the race to personally hand voters $1 million checks after giving a speech in which he wore a cheesehead hat.
“The long con of the left is corruption of the judiciary,” the Tesla billionaire posted on X on Tuesday night.
Wednesday’s win by Democratic candidate Susan Crawford, over Brad Schimel, cemented a liberal majority for the next three years. In her acceptance speech, Crawford made reference to Musk and his campaign.
“I never could have imagined that I would be taking on the richest man in the world for justice in Wisconsin… and we won,” she said.
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Crawford’s win keeps the court under a 4-3 liberal majority in the face of crucial litigation surrounding abortion access, voting rights and redistricting.
Schimel – who was once branded by his opposition as “Elon Schimel” – also conceded defeat. During his concession speech, one woman was heard chanting, “Cheater, cheater!” Schimel responded: “You’ve got to accept the results.”
President Donald Trump took a similar approach to Musk in his response to the result, opting to focus on the voter ID win. “VOTER I.D. JUST APPROVED IN WISCONSIN ELECTION. Democrats fought hard against this, presumably so they can CHEAT,” he wrote on Truth Social – hours before Crawford was unofficially declared as the winner.
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“This is a BIG WIN FOR REPUBLICANS, MAYBE THE BIGGEST WIN OF THE NIGHT. IT SHOULD ALLOW US TO WIN WISCONSIN, LIKE I JUST DID IN THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, FOR MANY YEARS TO COME!” he added.
The Associated Press reported that voter turnout exceeded 52%, topping the record set in 2023 of nearly 40%, while spending climbed to over $100 million.
It is unclear whether Musk and Trump will formally recognize Crawford’s win as the president sent out a slew of messages last night on his TruthSocial platform relating to other Republican victories as well as the ongoing issues surrounding tariffs.
