MADISON, Wis. — Turnout during the first week of early voting ahead of Wisconsin's pivotal state Supreme Court race is far exceeding levels from another high-stakes election just two years ago, the latest sign of the intense interest in a contest that has obliterated spending records and drawn attention from President Donald Trump and his billionaire adviser, Elon Musk.
As of Tuesday, with just a week to go until the final day of voting, nearly 48% more early ballots have been cast compared with the same point two years ago, according to data from the Wisconsin Elections Commission. More than 345,000 voters had returned ballots, either by mail or in person, compared with about 233,000 at this point two years ago during another race for a Supreme Court seat.
The election will determine whether the court will remain under 4-3 liberal control or flip to a conservative majority. One of the current liberal justices is retiring.
This year's race has morphed into a proxy battle over the nation’s politics, with Trump and Musk getting behind Brad Schimel, the Republican-backed candidate in a race that is officially nonpartisan.
“All Voters who believe in Common Sense should GET OUT TO VOTE EARLY for Brad Schimel,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post late last week.
Total spending on the race has reached more than $81 million, including more than $17 million by groups funded by Musk, according to a tally Tuesday by the Brennan Center for Justice. That's the most on record for any U.S. judicial race, breaking the $56 million spent on Wisconsin’s Supreme Court contest in 2023, when majority control also was on the line.
Musk himself has given the Wisconsin Republican Party $3 million this year, which it can then forward to Schimel's campaign or spend on the race itself.
All that spending and attention has helped fuel early voting, said Kevin Kennedy, Wisconsin's former top elections official who now works as a consultant. He spoke while taking a break from working at a Madison poll site where people could vote early.
“There’s just a lot of money being invested,” Kennedy said. “Everything seems to be focused on, ‘Let’s get out the vote.’”
After previously being critical of early voting, Trump and the Republican Party are urging their supporters to cast their ballots before the final day of voting on April 1. Early voting ends Sunday. The strategy, which they deployed with great success in last year's presidential race, appears to be contributing to large turnout increases in more conservative counties across Wisconsin.
Schimel's opponent, Democratic-backed Dane County Circuit Judge Susan Crawford, has raised more than $25 million for the race to date, including $5.5 million from the state Democratic Party since early February. Her supporters include billionaire Democratic megadonor George Soros and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.
Schimel, a Waukesha County judge, had raised more than $12 million, which includes more than $6 million from the Wisconsin Republican Party since early February.
But outside groups have more than made up the difference in what the candidates have raised.
The roughly $32 million spent by the candidates as of Monday was far exceeded by the roughly $49 million spent so far by outside groups, according to the Brennan Center calculation. Schimel and his allies, which include groups backed by Musk, have spent about $46 million, while Crawford and her supporters have spent about $36 million.
威斯康辛州的选民不按政党登记，因此不可能知道已经提交的选票中有多少来自共和党或民主党。但数据显示，增幅最大的县都是民主党和共和党占多数的县。
密尔沃基县是该州最大的县，也是民主党人数最多的县，以54,750张选票领先所有县。这比两年前的这个时间点高出46%以上。自由戴恩县是该州第二大县，也是州首府麦迪逊和威斯康辛大学的所在地，人口也增长了46%。
但该州的共和党选区也出现了大幅增长。
密尔沃基郊区的沃克沙、奥佐基和华盛顿这三个县的投票率上升，这三个县通常被称为WOW县。沃基夏和奥佐基的选票报酬率分别上升了62%和51%。在三个县中共和党支持率最高的华盛顿，提前投票的人数是两年前的两倍多。
布朗县是该州人口第四多的县，也是共和党的忠实支持者，早期投票率上升了34%以上。
虽然春季大选的提前投票率很高，但与威斯康星州在总统竞选前的战场上看到的情况相去甚远。在11月5日大选的前一周，有近100万选民投了票，几乎是迄今为止这次选举的四倍。
这场竞选正值威斯康辛州最高法院将就堕胎权、国会选区重划、工会权力和投票规则做出裁决之际。
周一晚上，美国众议院少数党民主党领袖哈基姆·杰弗里斯对支持者说，克劳福德当选很重要，这样她和其他自由派法官就可以下令重新划定国会边界。尽管威斯康辛州是一个摇摆州，但共和党划定的界线使该党占据了8个国会席位中的6个。
杰弗里斯在社交媒体平台x上的现场讨论中说：“我们需要尽快重新审视这一点，并有公平的界限。要想让这一点成为可能，唯一的办法就是最高法院是否开明。”
希梅尔指责克劳福德向民主党人承诺她将重新划定界限。克劳福德对此予以否认。
