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Wisconsin's $90M Supreme Court race: What's at stake in the most expensive election

Wisconsin's Supreme Court race breaks national spending records as voters decide crucial issues, including abortion rights and voting maps ahead of 2028.

Wisconsin's $90M Supreme Court race: What's at stake in the most expensive election

Wisconsin's Supreme Court race breaks national spending records as voters decide crucial issues, including abortion rights and voting maps ahead of 2028.

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      WISCONSIN’S CRITICAL SPRING ELECTION. FROM HOW TO VOTE TO WHAT’S AT STAKE IN THIS ELECTION. WE HAVE TEAM COVERAGE THIS MORNING. LET’S START, THOUGH, WITH ABC’S SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT RACHEL SCOTT. RACHEL IS LIVE HERE IN MILWAUKEE. AND RACHEL AT THE TOP OF THE BALLOT FOR EVERY VOTER IN WISCONSIN IS THE STATE SUPREME COURT RACE, A RACE THAT’S NOW THE MOST EXPENSIVE COURT RACE IN THE COUNTRY’S HISTORY. WE SAW THE PRESIDENT WEIGH IN FROM THE OVAL OFFICE. WHY IS THIS RACE GETTING SO MUCH ATTENTION OUTSIDE OF WISCONSIN? YEAH. WELL, GERRON, YOU SAID IT’S NOT ONLY THE MOST EXPENSIVE, BUT YOU HAVE DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS THAT ARE CALLING THIS LIKELY ONE OF THE MOST CONSEQUENTIAL ELECTIONS SINCE PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP TOOK OFFICE. AND THE REASON WHY IS BECAUSE SO MANY REALLY SEE THIS AS A LITMUS TEST, REALLY, THE FIRST TIME THAT VOTERS MAY GET THE CHANCE TO WEIGH IN ON PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP’S AGENDA. AND SO DEMOCRATS ARE REALLY HOPING THAT THIS BECOMES A REFERENDUM FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP’S AGENDA NATIONALLY. THAT’S THE MESSAGE THAT THEY WANT TO SEND BACK TO THE WHITE HOUSE, BUT ALSO REALLY AT A STATE LEVEL HERE. THIS IS A CRITICAL BATTLEGROUND STATE. IT’S A PURPLE STATE. AND OF COURSE, THIS COULD SHIFT THE BALANCE OF POWER ON THE STATE SUPREME COURT. AND WE KNOW THAT WILL HAVE BIG IMPLICATIONS, NOT ONLY FOR FUTURE RULINGS ON ABORTION RIGHTS, BUT ALSO ELECTION LAWS, VOTING LAWS AS WELL, AND POTENTIALLY THE WAY THE MAPS ARE REDRAWN FOR CONGRESS IN THE STATE. TO. RACHEL, YOU TRAVELED ACROSS THE STATE. WHAT HAVE YOU HEARD FROM VOTERS IN THIS FINAL CAMPAIGN? SPRINT. YEAH, AND IT IS A SPREAD, AND I CAN ALREADY SEE VOTERS SORT OF GETTING PREPARED TO WALK IN HERE TO CAST THEIR BALLOT. THIS MORNING, I WAS SPEAKING WITH ONE VOTER IN GLENDALE JUST YESTERDAY, AND HE WAS FASCINATING. LOOK, HE VOTED FOR DONALD TRUMP THREE TIMES, INCLUDING IN THIS LAST ELECTION. BUT HE’S BACKING THE LIBERAL COUNTY JUDGE CRAWFORD IN THIS RACE. AND THE REASON WHY HE TOLD ME IS BECAUSE OF ABORTION RIGHTS. HE BELIEVES THAT PRESIDENT TRUMP, BY SUPPORTING THE OVERTURNING OF ROE V WADE, SENT THIS ISSUE BACK DOWN TO THE STATES. SO HE’S BACKING THE CANDIDATE WHO HE BELIEVES MOST ALIGNS WITH HIS VIEWS ON ABORTION RIGHTS. AND SO, YOU KNOW, WISCONSIN, YOU GUYS ARE KNOWN FOR A LITTLE BIT OF A SURPRISE HERE. AND THAT’S WHAT MAKES THIS RACE PARTICULARLY REALLY UNPREDICTABLE AT THIS TIME. YEAH. ALL EYES ON THIS RACE REALLY QUICKLY, RACHEL. THIS RACE HAS BECOME THE MOST EXPENSIVE COURT RACE IN HISTORY. IT’S BECOME EXTREMELY PARTIZAN AS WELL FOR A NONPARTISAN ROLE. IS THIS THE NEW STANDARD FOR COURT RACES? AND I’M SO HAPPY THAT YOU SAID THAT, BECAUSE IT’S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE TO REMEMBER THAT THIS IS TRADITIONALLY NONPARTISAN. WE TRADITIONALLY DO NOT SEE SO MUCH FOCUS HERE. BUT WHAT I WILL TELL YOU, IT JUST TELLS YOU HOW MUCH THE STAKES ARE THIS HIGH AT THIS TIME, WHERE YOU HAVE DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS REALLY ZEROING IN HERE ON THIS CRITICAL BATTLEGROUND STATE THAT PRESIDENT TRUMP BARELY WON IN NOVEMBER. GUYS, ABC’S RACHEL SCOTT LIVE AT THE MUNICIPAL BUILDING IN DOWNTOWN MILWAUKEE. YOU’LL SEE MORE OF RACHEL’S REPORTING COMING UP ON GMA RIGHT AFTER THIS NEWSCAST. RACHEL. THANK YOU. OUR POLITICAL PARTNERS AT WISPOLITICS REPORTED MUSK MADE A $1.2 MILLION DONATION LAST WEEK TO SCHIMMEL’S CAMPAIGN, AND CRAWFORD RECEIVED $1 MILLION FROM MEGADONOR GEORGE S
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      Wisconsin's $90M Supreme Court race: What's at stake in the most expensive election

      Wisconsin's Supreme Court race breaks national spending records as voters decide crucial issues, including abortion rights and voting maps ahead of 2028.

      Wisconsin voters head to the polls Tuesday in what has become the most expensive state Supreme Court race in U.S. history, with spending exceeding $90 million, according to a tally by the Brennan Center for Justice. That broke the previous record of $51 million for the state’s Supreme Court race in 2023. Wisconsin voters are choosing between Republican-backed Brad Schimel and Democratic-supported Susan Crawford, who have starkly different views. The winner will determine the ideological balance of Wisconsin's highest court, which could rule on critical issues, including abortion, voting rights and redistricting in this key battleground state ahead of the 2026 midterms and 2028 presidential election.Democrats and Republicans have called it one of the most consequential elections since Donald Trump’s presidency. "Many see this as a litmus test. The first-time voters may get the chance to weigh in on President Donald Trump’s agenda," senior congressional correspondent for ABC News Rachel Scott said.Scott interviewed a Glendale voter who has voted for Trump three times, including in the most recent election. He said he's backing liberal county judge Crawford in this race. "He believes that President Trump, by supporting the overturning of Roe v. Wade, sent this issue back down to the states," reported Scott. "He believes most aligns with his views on abortion rights."The unprecedented spending and partisan nature of what is traditionally a nonpartisan judicial race has raised questions about whether this represents a new standard for state Supreme Court contests nationwide.Political analysts note that the heightened stakes reflect Wisconsin's status as a purple state where the court could influence not only abortion access but also election laws and congressional redistricting.

      Wisconsin voters head to the polls Tuesday in what has become the most expensive state Supreme Court race in U.S. history, with spending exceeding $90 million, according to a tally by the Brennan Center for Justice. That broke the previous record of $51 million for the state’s Supreme Court race in 2023.

      Wisconsin voters are choosing between Republican-backed Brad Schimel and Democratic-supported Susan Crawford, who have starkly different views. The winner will determine the ideological balance of Wisconsin's highest court, which could rule on critical issues, including abortion, voting rights and redistricting in this key battleground state ahead of the 2026 midterms and 2028 presidential election.

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      Democrats and Republicans have called it one of the most consequential elections since Donald Trump’s presidency. "Many see this as a litmus test. The first-time voters may get the chance to weigh in on President Donald Trump’s agenda," senior congressional correspondent for ABC News Rachel Scott said.

      Scott interviewed a Glendale voter who has voted for Trump three times, including in the most recent election. He said he's backing liberal county judge Crawford in this race.

      "He believes that President Trump, by supporting the overturning of Roe v. Wade, sent this issue back down to the states," reported Scott. "He believes [Crawford] most aligns with his views on abortion rights."

      The unprecedented spending and partisan nature of what is traditionally a nonpartisan judicial race has raised questions about whether this represents a new standard for state Supreme Court contests nationwide.

      Political analysts note that the heightened stakes reflect Wisconsin's status as a purple state where the court could influence not only abortion access but also election laws and congressional redistricting.