'In for a real fight': Scarborough dissects key takeaway from Wisconsin election bombshell

02 April

MSNBC's Joe Scarborough

On Tuesday night, April 1, political strategists were paying very close attention to an expensive Wisconsin Supreme Court race as well as special elections for two U.S. House of Representatives seats in Florida.

GOP candidates enjoyed double-digit victories in the Florida races, which wasn't surprising — as they were competing for seats in deeply Republican districts, and the seats were formerly held by Matt Gaetz and Michael Waltz (now national security adviser in the Trump Administration).

But the Wisconsin Supreme Court election, although technically nonpartisan, was a major disappointment for Republicans: Liberal Judge Susan Crawford defeated conservative Judge Brad Schimel by roughly 10 percent despite the fact that billionaire Tesla/SpaceX/X.com leader Elon Musk poured over $20 million into Schimel's campaign.

The race was viewed as a referendum on President Donald Trump and his close ally Musk, and their candidate lost in a key swing state that Trump won in 2016 and 2024 but lost in 2020.

MSNBC hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brezinski discussed the election results the next morning, arguing that Musk got a stern rebuke from Wisconsin voters.

Scarborough, a Never Trump conservative and former GOP congressman, told Brzezinski and former MSNBC host Chris Matthews, "That viral TikTok moment, that viral YouTube short, we're going to see it: Elon Musk with a chainsaw, calling Social Security a Ponzi scheme, firing veterans, endangering farmers' future. You just go down the list of all the things he's done, and man…. I have no doubt: these Republicans in swing races understand now they're in for a real fight next year."

Matthews interjected, "And you know who knows that? Donald Trump."

Trump, Matthews added, showed he is worried about Republicans holding the U.S. House when he withdrew Rep. Elise Stefanik's (R-New York) nomination for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Had Stefanik been confirmed for that position, a special election would have been needed — and Trump wanted to keep her in that U.S. House seat as long as possible./

Watch the full video below or at this link.

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