The billionaire, now a White House official and no longer a private citizen, is spending millions of dollars to elect a conservative judge, and making himself a main character in the race.
Much has changed since the last time Elon Musk tried to win an election in Wisconsin.
Five months ago, his chosen candidate was Donald J. Trump. Mr. Musk did not work in the White House. It was unclear if the Department of Government Efficiency was more than just a meme. Mr. Musk was unproven as a political force, taking advantage of new campaign finance rules to deploy an army of canvassers who could knock on Wisconsin doors millions of times. Mr. Trump ended up winning the state by about 30,000 votes.
This spring, Mr. Musk is returning to that Badger State playbook — in an entirely different political world.
Mr. Musk’s chosen candidate is a hopeful for the State Supreme Court, Brad Schimel, whom the billionaire barely knows. Mr. Musk has become a main character in the country’s politics as a White House super-aide. He is now subject to its ethics rules but is simultaneously throwing millions of dollars into pro-Trump causes. And Democrats are running hard against him and his government-gutting effort in the April 1 election.
If Mr. Musk succeeds, conservatives will retake a 4-to-3 majority on the court and put themselves in a position to push the battleground state rightward on issues like abortion rights, labor rights and congressional maps. In a sign of the race’s importance for conservatives, Mr. Trump endorsed Judge Schimel on Friday night.
“Musk saw the benefit of his involvement in Wisconsin” in 2024, former Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican, said in an interview.