Wisconsin voters elected Susan Crawford to the state Supreme Court on Tuesday, maintaining the court's 4-3 liberal majority in a setback for U.S. President Donald Trump and his billionaire ally Elon Musk, who had backed her conservative rival.
The election was widely seen as an early referendum on Trump's presidency, and the campaign easily became the most expensive judicial contest in U.S. history with more than $90 million spent by the candidates, the state parties and outside groups, according to New York University's Brennan Center.
Crawford, a county judge, defeated conservative Brad Schimel, a former Republican state attorney general and also a county judge, who conceded in a phone call to Crawford and in a speech before his supporters. With 75% of the vote counted, Crawford held a lead of 55% to 45%, a difference of some 178,000 votes.
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