By rallying anti-Musk donors, liberal judge collects $24 million in key legal dispute

Thanks to Elon Musk's support for her conservative opponent, a Wisconsin judge running for a seat on the state's highest court has raised what is believed to be a record amount for a judicial campaign.

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Judge Susan Crawford, a liberal candidate for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, said her campaign has received contributions from 113,000 donors.

Judge Susan Crawford, a liberal candidate for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, raised $24 million in the April 1 election, a record for a U.S. judicial candidate, her campaign said Monday.

Her war chest, including $17 million raised between Feb. 4 and March 17 alone, approaches the amount typically expected of a gubernatorial candidate and surpasses that of other recent candidates for statewide office in Wisconsin.

But that is likely to be a fraction of the total spent on Judge Crawford in a contest that will be the first major test of bipartisan enthusiasm in the country since President Trump took office and will determine which party has a majority on the state's highest court.

Much of the money in the race will be spent by super PACs or funneled through Wisconsin's political parties. State law allows parties to raise unlimited amounts of money, which they can then give to candidates they support in unlimited amounts.

However, judicial candidates face a limit of $20,000 per donor. Judge Crawford's campaign said it has received contributions from 113,000 donors since she entered the race over the summer.

Judge Crawford faces Brad Schimel, a conservative judge who won Mr. Trump's endorsement on Friday night and is being helped by millions of dollars in spending from super political action committees linked to Elon Musk, the billionaire leading the president's efforts to cut spending in the federal government.

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