A loss in a high-stakes Wisconsin judicial contest has left some Republicans questioning the heavy involvement of billionaire Elon Musk, whom Democrats view as the perfect villain to galvanize their voters in races to come.
But Musk and his political action committee plan to remain deeply involved in boosting GOP candidates, according to two people familiar with the plans who, like some others interviewed for this article, spoke on the condition of anonymity to disclose internal discussions. Musk wrote on social media Wednesday that he had “expected to lose” in Wisconsin.
“This is not deterring him at all. He’s still wanting to be heavily engaged in politics going forward,” one of the people said.
“They are full steam ahead,” looking at the midterms and other races, the second person said.
Musk has become a megafunder and cheerleader for Republicans since backing Donald Trump in the 2024 election, energizing conservatives with his promise to slash federal spending.
But some Republicans are questioning the usefulness of his presence in races at a time when liberals are highly motivated to turn out against him, given opposition in some corners to Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service and the cuts it is making to the federal workforce. Brad Schimel, Musk’s preferred candidate, lost by 10 percentage points to Democrat-backed Susan Crawford on Tuesday night in a state that Donald Trump won a few months ago — a result that echoes other offseason elections in which Republicans have struggled.
“The Republican base loves Elon Musk now, so [I thought] if he comes here and says, ‘Go out and vote for Brad Schimel,’ that would help,” said Rohn Bishop (R), mayor of Waupun, Wisconsin. “But the opposite effect happened. Every Democrat in the state turned out to vote against Elon Musk.”
Musk personally handed out oversize $1 million checks to conservative Wisconsin voters ahead of the state Supreme Court race, which he called key to the “entire destiny of humanity.” At a political rally, he even turned up bedecked in a giant cheesehead.
Bishop said Musk’s direct payments to voters for signing a petition looked “sleazy” and allowed Democrats to run on a slogan of Wisconsin not being for sale — even though outside money also poured in to help the liberal candidate. Bishop fears the midterms will be a “bloodbath” for Republicans in the state.
Republicans welcome the billionaire’s money in upcoming races, given that Democratic candidates have often outraised GOP hopefuls in recent cycles and that the party in power generally faces a challenging political environment in its first midterm elections. But Musk’s personal presence and some of his unconventional means of motivating voters may be less welcome in future races.
“He’s a very intelligent man. He’s not just going to throw money at a problem and hope it gets fixed,” said one GOP strategist involved in the midterms. “That’s what everyone is hoping to see in the next phase: a more professionalized operation that looks at how can I be effective.”
Asked whether Musk is a helpful presence on the campaign trail for Republicans, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) said the president, not Musk, will be the person in demand ahead of the midterms.
“I will predict to you that Republicans running in ’26, the top of their list to come to their district would be the president. …When the president gets involved, that’s hugely helpful.,” Hawley said.
Others did not answer directly when asked whether they wanted Musk involved in their races. “Now that that’s out there, Democrats are going to have an answer for it,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, who faces reelection in purple North Carolina 2026. “You’ll see [billionaire donor George] Soros on a stage giving away million-dollar checks. It’s going to be a new advent of politics.”
But some said they hope Musk is undeterred. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Florida) said that he is “very appreciative” of what Musk is doing and that he should stay involved in races, “especially mine.”
Musk’s allies argued the Wisconsin loss reflected a tough political environment and not any mistakes in strategy. Democrats also overperformed in two special elections in deep-red Florida districts on Tuesday, suggesting that they retain the advantage in lower-turnout elections and that liberal voters may be more motivated to turn out than conservatives so soon after a Republican presidential victory.
“I suspect many other political candidates who have a chance to receive [Musk’s help] will accept it and embrace it,” said Jason Johnson, president of the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund, which opposes progressive district attorneys. “I get the baggage, but voters are turned off by lots of different things, so there is no question that people are going to be turned off by the Elon factor and others are going to be energized by it.”
But Musk clearly seems to motivate liberal voters. “Candidly, if you look at the polling, Elon polls worse than Trump does,” said strategist Liz Mair, who is a Musk fan and was a top aide to former Wisconsin governor Scott Walker. “The reality is Elon is not as popular.”
Tuesday’s results show that Musk’s heavy involvement is “not a magic bullet” for Republicans, said veteran Wisconsin-based pollster Charles Franklin. Republicans bet that Musk’s money and his support among Republicans could “mobilize November Trump voters who normally sit out a spring race. But the risk was that it would countermobilize Democrats, who are nearly unanimous in viewing Musk unfavorably,” Franklin said.
Turnout increased for both Democrats and Republicans compared with another high-profile Wisconsin Supreme Court race, in 2023: It appears that about 63 percent of registered voters turned out compared with 50 percent in 2023, said Franklin, who directs the Marquette Law School Poll.
But Democrats won by about the same margin this time around, suggesting that Musk and Republicans “completely failed to remake the political landscape in Wisconsin for Supreme Court races,” Franklin said.
Democrats relished Musk’s involvement in the race, with Crawford telling voters she “never could have dreamed that I’d be running against the richest man in the world.”
After Schimel’s loss, they urged Musk to stay involved in politics.
“Please send @elonmusk to all the close races!” Jon Favreau, a former top Obama aide, wrote on X after the race was called.
Musk’s America PAC, which helped shore up Trump’s ground game ahead of the 2024 election, was aware the Wisconsin race was difficult to win. But Musk wanted to put Democrats on defense and show he won’t cede ground to them even in a difficult political environment, according to one of the people familiar with Musk’s thinking. The race also allowed his political apparatus to experiment with new tactics, and Musk is committed to helping Republicans hold their majorities in Congress, the person added.
Musk and Trump allies are debating what went wrong in the Wisconsin race, said another person familiar with the conversations, and trying to determine what should change in their messaging and tactics.
The billionaire has shown a unique willingness to push political and legal boundaries in campaigning. The PAC revisited controversial tactics it used during the presidential campaign, which included paying registered voters $100 each for signing petitions and awarding some signers $1 million.
Despite the potential legal ramifications, Musk viewed the giveaways as gimmicks intentionally engineered to draw people’s attention to a race that they may not have considered otherwise. The PAC is still figuring out its next campaign target, another person said.
Musk said in a Fox News interview last week that “most of the work” to find DOGE’s $1 trillion in annual savings would be finished by the time his 130 days as a special government employee concluded. That marked a contrast with his prior comments, also on Fox News, that DOGE’s work would extend for a year as it drilled into agencies, including the Social Security Administration. (DOGE stands for the Department of Government Efficiency). Even if Musk departs, the group is expected to continue operating — and many of its staff members have postings in different agencies across government.
Meryl Kornfield and Faiz Siddiqui contributed to this report.
