AG files last-minute appeal to block Musk from gifting $2 million to voters in high-stakes WI court race

Wisconsin’s attorney general filed a last-minute appeal to the state Supreme Court days after an appellate court denied his request to prevent billionaire DOGE leader Elon Musk from giving $1 million checks to two individuals at Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel’s Green Bay rally on Sunday evening.

An appeals judge rejected Democrat Joshua Kaul’s bid for an emergency injunction Saturday, as Schimel – a Republican former state attorney general and current Waukesha judge – faces liberal jurist Susan Crawford in the officially nonpartisan race to fill a seat on the blue-trending court.

Kaul asked the 4-3 liberal-majority court to reach a decision “as soon as possible but no later than the planned event on Sunday evening.”

Musk has publicly backed and contributed millions of dollars toward Schimel, and Kaul argued the giveaway violates state election laws. The tech mogul also came under fire for making a similar offer in Pennsylvania during the 2024 presidential election.

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There, Gov. Josh Shapiro told NBC during the campaign season he found Musk’s behavior “deeply concerning.” The former commonwealth attorney general added such offers are something police should “take a look at.”

In Kaul’s filing, he is requesting the Wisconsin Supreme Court for an injunction, alleging “[r]espondents’ offer to pay $1 million to two Wisconsin electors, conditioned on their having voted in the upcoming election, is a violation of Wisconsin Statute § 12.11, which prohibits offering ‘anything of value’ in exchange for “vot[ing] or refrain[ing] from voting.” 

The emergency basis of his injunction request is therefore rational, Kaul argued.

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“This Court should grant the petition for original action and issue an immediate temporary injunction (1) prohibiting Respondents from further promoting the million-dollar giveaway to attendees of the planned event on Sunday, March 30, 2025, (2) prohibiting Respondents from making any payments to Wisconsin electors to vote, and (3) prohibiting all actions by Respondents taken in furtherance of a planned violation of Wis. Stat. § 12.11.”

Musk said in a statement Friday that he wished to “clarify a previous [X] post” on the matter.

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“[E]ntrance is limited to those who have signed the petition in opposition to activist judges. I will also hand over checks for a million dollars to 2 people to be spokesmen for the petition,” Musk said.

Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Ben Wikler told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel it appeared Musk deleted a prior post to cover up “evidence of his crime.”

The key off-year race, scheduled for Tuesday, could have national implications, according to both sides.

Schimel supporters previously warned Fox News Digital that two Republican congressmen – House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil of Kenosha and Rep. Derrick Van Orden of Prairie du Chien – could see their districts intentionally redrawn in a backdoor attempt to oust them from office next cycle if Crawford wins.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.