‘He cannot buy an election here in Wisconsin’: Sanders slams Musk in state Trump won by less than 1%

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., during a stop on his “Fighting Oligarchy” Tour in Altoona, Wisconsin, on Friday night, targeted Elon Musk for donating to the conservative candidate for Wisconsin Supreme Court, Brad Schimel. 

Schimel called out the hypocrisy in an exclusive interview with Fox News on Monday. 

“Well, it’s funny that Bernie’s in Wisconsin trying to influence this election and complaining that somebody else might be having interest in this election,” Schimel said. 

However, a Sanders spokesperson drew a stark contrast with Musk, telling Fox News Digital in a statement that Sanders is “mobilizing people” while Musk mobilizes money. 

“Bernie is mobilizing people; Musk has mobilized over 6 million in ad expenditures. Sen. Sanders is focused on creating a political system based on the democratic principles of one person-one vote, and ending a corrupt system which allows billionaires to buy elections. Mr. Musk is focused on using his money and power to install elected officials who answer to him, instead of their constituents,” Sanders’ communications director Anna Bahr said. 

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Momentum at the Blue Wall rallies solidified Sanders’ ability to organize and lead opposition to President Donald Trump, as the Democratic Party continues to grapple with its November losses. Speaking to thousands of supporters at rallies in Kenosha and Altoona this weekend, Sanders urged Wisconsinites to get out the vote on April 1 and took aim at Musk’s growing political influence. 

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“Musk spent some $270 million to help Trump get elected, and his reward is that he was made the most powerful person in the U.S. government,” Sanders told the crowd in Kenosha on Friday. “But it goes beyond that. As bad as that is, the situation is so absurd that Musk is so arrogant that he is even intervening in a Supreme Court election right here in the state of Wisconsin against a candidate who has the very, very extreme idea that maybe women should be able to control their own bodies, not the government.”

The race between Dane County Circuit Judge Susan Crawford and Waukesha County Circuit Judge Brad Schimel is one of the first major elections in a battleground state since the 2024 presidential election. Trump won battleground Wisconsin by less than a percentage point in 2024. 

The April 1 election will decide the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s balance of power. While the Supreme Court race is technically nonpartisan, Schimel has been backed by Republicans, and Crawford has the support of Democrats. It is on track to be the most expensive judicial election in Wisconsin’s history. 

Musk’s Building America’s Future and America PAC have already spent millions on Schimel’s campaign, according to campaign finance reports. The Wisconsin Democratic Party responded with a $2 million donation to Crawford, which included a $1 million donation from George Soros. 

“Whatever your view may be on this Supreme Court election, I think everybody, no matter what your position should be, should make it clear to the wealthiest person on Earth that he cannot buy an election here in Wisconsin,” Sanders said on Friday. 

Sanders warned the Altoona crowd about the ramifications of billionaire influence on elections, calling for public funding of elections. 

“I want you to think about what that means. If this guy can intervene in a Supreme Court election in one state. You tell me what mayor’s race? What governor’s race? What Senate race he cannot buy?” Sanders asked. “We have got to deal with this corrupt campaign finance system. We’ve got to overturn Citizens United. And we’ve got to move to public funding of elections. And again, no matter what your political view may be – you’re conservative, you’re progressive. Nobody I know thinks that billionaires should be able to buy elections.”

Sanders continued his pitch for campaign finance reform to Wisconsinites at a rally in Altoona on Sunday, pointing to “Democratic billionaires as well.”

“Does anybody in America believe that it is appropriate for somebody like Musk to contribute $270 million to Trump’s campaign and then you get rewarded by becoming the most important man in government?” Sander asked. “But I got to tell you it is not just Musk and Republicans, it is Democratic billionaires as well. We are not going to make progress on the issues facing working families unless we have campaign finance reform.”

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) echoed Sander’s comments in a statement released on Monday, emphasizing that Wisconsin voters do not want Musk “buying elections.”

“In three weeks, Wisconsin voters will have the opportunity to stand against Trump and MAGA Republicans’ attacks on Wisconsinites and the programs they rely on. Wisconsin voters don’t like Elon Musk running our federal government and they don’t want him buying elections in Wisconsin either. It’s time to elect proven leaders like Susan Crawford and Jill Underly who will move Wisconsin forward and serve Badger Staters’ – not billionaires’ – best interests. Democrats are working tirelessly to keep Elon Musk and his billions from corrupting Wisconsin’s elections,” DNC Deputy Executive Director Libby Schneider said in a statement. 

Schimel countered the DNC’s statement in an exclusive interview with Fox News, calling judicial liberals “activists.”

“Frankly, the difference between a judicial conservative and a judicial liberal is judicial conservatives, they apply the law the way it’s written. Judicial liberals, they’re activists. They make the law. That’s what they want out of my opponent. I’m here to bring stability to Wisconsin by having a Supreme Court that follows the law.”

Schimel said liberal justices are the ones “checking off boxes to return favors to their big donors” and vowed to “restore objectivity to the court.” However, Schimel said accepting donations is necessary to compete in the race. 

“I’ll take all legal and ethical contributions because I’ve got to compete. If I’m going to get my message out to the voters, I can’t be outspent 20 to 1, like the conservative in 2023 was. So I’m in this, and I’ve got to make sure I get my message out to Wisconsin voters… The money is helping, of course,” Schimel said.

Crawford did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment by the deadline of this article. 

The Associated Press reported that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., will organize solo events in red districts across Pennsylvania and New York and join Sanders on the road in the coming weeks to campaign against Trump’s second term. When asked to confirm, Sanders’ office said there was “nothing locked yet.”