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Elon Musk's group spent over $12 million in Wisconsin. Here's why he cares about a state Supreme Court race.

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Elon Musk's group spent over  million in Wisconsin. Here's why he cares about a state Supreme Court race.


President Donald Trump may have run his last race, but that doesn’t mean Elon Musk is done campaigning.

Musk will travel to Wisconsin on Sunday, days ahead of a Supreme Court race that could shift the balance of the state’s highest court. True to his word, the world’s richest man is cementing his status as one of the GOP’s biggest megadonors in an off-year election that has drawn significant national attention.

Musk and his America PAC have spent over $12 million so far on the officially nonpartisan state Supreme Court race to help conservative Judge Brad Schimel. Democrats, including former President Barack Obama, have rallied behind liberal Judge Susan Crawford.

More than $80 million has been spent, making the contest the costliest judicial election in US history — supplanting a Wisconsin court from just two years ago.

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“Both sides are making a pitch to make it a referendum on Donald Trump or Elon Musk as the case may be,” Marquette Law School professor Chad Oldfather told Business Insider. “It’s kind of the first election of consequence in the Trump era, so I think people are looking for signs here as to how the population is reacting to everything.”

Oldfather, who studies state constitutional law, said Musk’s presence has given this race a different feel.

“We’ve had outside money coming into these races in the past, I suppose what distinguishes it is that Musk is not trying to downplay his role at all,” Oldfather said.

Tesla is suing to open dealerships in the state, fighting a state law that doesn’t allow automakers to sell directly to consumers. (It’s a frequent issue for Musk’s company.) Musk and just about every other major figure who has weighed in on the race is more concerned about what the seven justices can do that will have national effects.

“We’re trying to stop the Democrats in Wisconsin from removing two House seats,” Musk told Fox News anchor Bret Baier during an interview for “Special Report.”

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If Schimel loses, Musk said, “we could lose control of the House and all of the government reforms could be shut down.”

The GOP holds a 6 to 2 majority in the Wisconsin US House of Representatives delegation. History shows that the president’s party typically loses seats. The GOP has a slim House majority, meaning it cannot afford to see more districts become more competitive.

Musk isn’t hard to miss in the state.

Crawford and her allies have repeatedly highlighted Musk’s spending in the race. Wisconsin Democrats’ website has a splash page that shows Musk as the puppet master of Schimel.

“Elon Musk is the most unpopular active national figure in Wisconsin politics, and the more voters see that the man who is attacking social security and their healthcare is pouring millions of dollars in to help Brad Schimel, the more voters are enraged about the idea of someone trying to buy our state Supreme Court,” Wisconsin Democrats Chairman Ben Wikler told Business Insider.

After Musk announced his initial giveaway, Crawford’s campaign wrote on X, “Brad Schimel and Elon Musk are corrupt.”

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In response to Crawford, Schimel’s campaign said their opponent has plenty of well-heeled supporters herself, including George Soros, Bernie Sanders, and Hakeem Jeffries.

The attempts by Susan Crawford and the Democrats to distract the people of Wisconsin from her extreme views and the radical billionaires funding her are a mockery of hypocrisy,” Jacob Fischer, Schimel campaign spokesperson, said in a statement to Business Insider.

Wisconsin Republican Party Chairman Brian Schimming called the focus on Musk’s spending “a diversion.”

“It’s a way for them to take shots at Donald Trump and at Elon Musk,” Schimming told Business Insider. “There’s no lack of lack of big money people that have come into Wisconsin over the years that have greatly outspent Elon Musk.”

According to a March 5 Marquette Law School Poll, Musk has a -12 percentage point approval rating in Wisconsin. The same respondents only slightly disapproved (-3 percentage points) of Trump’s first six weeks in office. Trump won the state last November, part of his swing state sweep over Vice President Kamala Harris that ushered him back into the White House. Just days before Election Day, Trump announced his endorsement of Schimel.

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Like in the 2024 election, Musk’s campaigning is also drawing opposition. On Friday, he wrote on X that he would personally award two voters $1 million checks at the Sunday rally. He then deleted the tweet and later clarified that the checks were for attendees who had agreed to become spokespeople for a petition America PAC is pushing across the state. Musk’s political outfit previously promised to give $100 to voters who signed the petition against judicial activism.

Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul, a Democrat, said he would challenge Musk’s giveaway in court. Wisconsin law prohibits anyone from giving “something of value” to voters, which led some election law experts to conclude that Musk’s effort was illegal.

The national attention is unlikely to fade for long.

Wisconsin justices serve 10-year terms. Due to retirements alone, the state will hold multiple Supreme Court elections over the next five years. In the meantime, the current race seems almost inescapable, Oldfather said.

“It’s a deluge,” he said, “every time you turn on the TV, every time you pull up YouTube, every you open your mailbox, every time your phone dings with a text message.”

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‘Very large snow storm coming’ Sunday, but snowfall totals uncertain

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‘Very large snow storm coming’ Sunday, but snowfall totals uncertain



A significant snow storm will hit during the late evening on March 14 and last until the morning of March 16. The National Weather Service is advising people to plan to stay off the roads.

Weather forecasters aren’t sure how much snow central Wisconsin residents will see Sunday, March 15, but they are advising people to stay off the roads that day.

There is a significant storm coming that will hit during the late evening hours on Saturday, March 14 and go through March 15, lasting until almost the morning of Monday, March 16, said Scott Berschback, National Weather Service meteorologist in Green Bay. However, as of March 11, the National Weather Service isn’t putting out any predictions for snowfall totals just yet.

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“There is a very large snow storm coming,” Berschback said.

Some weather apps on phones are predicting between 20-24 inches of snow for March 15 in Central Wisconsin, and The Weather Channel app says between 8-12 inches are expected.

The National Weather Service isn’t predicating amounts right now because saying there is a possibility of between 8-24 inches of snow isn’t very helpful, Berschback said.

The storm could hit closer to the Milwaukee area or up near the Michigan state line, Berschback said. He said it is going to be a significant storm, but as of March 11, it isn’t known whether it will be a major storm similar to what we’ve seen this winter or one that the area hasn’t seen in years, he said.

Berschback recommends residents keep a close eye on the weather this upcoming weekend and plan to not drive anywhere on Sunday.

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Snow also expected March 12 in Central Wisconsin

There is another storm that is expected on Thursday, March 12, but it will be hitting north of Wausau, Berschback said. Wausau, Marshfield, Stevens Point and Wisconsin Rapids can expected about 1/2 inch to 1 inch of snow March 12.

Contact Karen Madden kmadden@usatodayco.com. Follow her on Twitter @KMadden715, Instagram @kmadden715 or Facebook at www.facebook.com/karen.madden.33.

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Wisconsin Legislature sued over spending millions on private attorneys

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Wisconsin Legislature sued over spending millions on private attorneys


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  • The lawsuit comes after a 2025 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel investigation.
  • The investigation found the state Legislature had spent about $26 million in taxpayer money on legal fees to private attorneys since 2017.

Law Forward, a Madison-based liberal law firm, is suing the Republican-controlled Legislature over its use of taxpayer money to hire private attorneys.

The lawsuit, which was filed last month, comes after a 2025 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel investigation found the state Legislature had spent about $26 million in taxpayer money on legal fees to private law firms since 2017.

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The investigation found the vast majority of the spending came after Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul won the November 2018 election, defeating Republican former Gov. Scott Walker and Attorney General Brad Schimel.

The sharp increase in spending also followed a law passed by Republican legislators in the December 2018 lame-duck session that authorized the Assembly speaker and Senate majority leader to hire private lawyers with taxpayer money.

“Wisconsin taxpayers deserve to know their money is being spent lawfully to advance a valid public purpose,” Law Forward President and General Counsel Jeff Mandell said in a statement. “This lawsuit challenges the tens of millions in taxpayer funds, most of which is wasted by the Republican-controlled Legislature on private legal counsel in pursuit of private interests.”

He called the practice a “clear violation of the Wisconsin Constitution’s public purpose doctrine and Wisconsin’s system of divided government.”

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The lawsuit names as defendants the Assembly, Senate, Department of Administration and legislative leaders, including Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu.

Vos and LeMahieu could not be reached immediately for comment about the lawsuit.

The lawsuit cited a 2023 dispute in which the Senate continued to pay private counsel after it had been removed as a party in a case involving the use of surveillance cameras in Green Bay City Hall. The case cost the Senate more than $1 million in fees, according to records reviewed by the Journal Sentinel.

Assembly leaders also spent $1.8 million on fees related to former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman’s 2020 election probe, which found no evidence of fraud. The probe ended when Vos fired Gableman in August 2022. The legal fees did not include other investigation-related expenses, like Gableman’s salary. 

Much of the spending at issue stems from the 2018 lame-duck session, in which Republicans passed a series of laws stripping Evers and Kaul of various powers a month before they took office. One of those laws allowed legislative leaders to pay for outside counsel with taxpayer money and circumvent the attorney general to intervene in lawsuits that challenge state law.

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Since then, the Legislature has spent more than $8 million defending challenges to the lame-duck laws.

In a July 2025 interview, Vos told the Journal Sentinel the laws ensured the governor did not consolidate too much power.

“The norm is for one person to try to take more authority, because they can make an easier, quicker decision,” Vos said.

“I think that’s really unhealthy for democracy, which is why we have so rigorously defended the right of the Legislature and the court to maintain its own independence,” he added.



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‘Not a hiding place’: Ogden police lauded for role in catching Nevada, Wisconsin murder suspects

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‘Not a hiding place’: Ogden police lauded for role in catching Nevada, Wisconsin murder suspects


OGDEN — In the last week, Ogden police have helped track down two suspects wanted outside of Utah in connection with separate homicides, which has Chief Jake Sube lauding the efforts of local law enforcement.

“Ogden is not a place where violent criminals come to run, hide or blend in. If you victimize people and come here to hide, we will find you,” he said in a social media post Tuesday.

In the most recent case, Ogden officials on Sunday arrested Randy Darius Jenks, 36, wanted in Mount Morris, Wisconsin, in connection with the death of his grandmother. The woman’s body had been discovered that same day at her Wisconsin home, according to court papers filed in 2nd District Court in Ogden as part of Jenks’ arrest accusing him of being a fugitive from justice.

On March 3, police arrested Ziaire Jacob Ham, 22, who is charged in Las Vegas with murder in the killing of a woman and a toddler, according to court papers and Sube’s statement. Ham had been spotted in Ogden by an Ogden officer and subsequently fled to Roy, where he was arrested.

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“The arrest of these two individuals reflects exactly how we protect Ogden every day. We use technology, relentless police work and coordinated action with our regional partners to find violent offenders, take them into custody and deliver them to justice,” Sube said.

Ogden Mayor Ben Nadolski echoed Sube’s comments. “Ogden is not a hiding place,” he said.

The image shows Ziaire Ham, arrested in Roy on March 3, after an Ogden officer spotted him in Ogden. He’s suspected in the killings of two people in Nevada. (Photo: Ogden police)

Waushara County, Wisconsin, law enforcement officials found a dead woman on Sunday at a Mount Morris home. Jenks “admitted to multiple family members” that he had stabbed the woman in the neck and killed her, and then drove to Ogden, according to court papers filed in Ogden. Wisconsin authorities alerted Ogden officials, who were also alerted on Sunday by the man’s family here that he was in their home.

“Randy Jenks was located and taken into custody and officers noted the presence of blood on Randy’s person and clothing,” court documents state. Police body camera footage posted to the Ogden Police Department Facebook page shows Jenks surrendering to officers.

According to WLUK, a Green Bay, Wisconsin TV station, Jenks faces a count in Wisconsin of first-degree intentional homicide. The court papers filed in Ogden say Jenks confessed to killing his grandma, complaining that the woman “pushed him too far.” A bloody folding knife found in the Ogden home where Jenks had fled to is the weapon he used to kill the woman, with whom he lived, the charges allege.

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In the Ham case, an Ogden officer on March 3 spotted a car that had been reported stolen out of Phoenix, Arizona, with Ham inside, driving. The officer attempted to pull him over, but Ham fled, eventually making it to Roy and abandoning his car. Authorities arrested him nearby.

Ham is charged in 2nd District Court with theft by receiving stolen property, a second-degree felony; failure to respond to an officer’s signal to stop, a third-degree felony; and reckless driving, a class B misdemeanor. According to court papers filed Tuesday, he has waived extradition to Las Vegas. Sube’s statement on Tuesday said Ham confessed to the killings in Nevada when interviewed by Ogden detectives.

Authorities said they thought Ham had discarded a gun somewhere between Ogden and Roy. Ogden police said Saturday that the gun had been located.

The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.



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