Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with House Republicans at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Washington, DC, U.S. on November 13, 2024. ALLISON ROBBERT/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
Apologies for my lame attempt at humor this morning. (As several of you pointed out, it was all too plausible. Trump and Musk have blurred the line between humor and catastrophe.)
But if you live in Wisconsin or in the 6th congressional district of Florida you’ll have a chance to do something the rest of us only dream about doing — tell Trump and Musk to go to hell.
In Florida’s 6th, House Republicans had expected an easy win to replace congressman Michael Waltz, who became Trump’s national security adviser (but may not be much longer, given his role in Signalgate). Trump won the district by 30 percentage points last November.
But Democratic candidate Josh Weil has a real chance of winning there. If he does, the Republicans’ margin in the House shrinks to just two.
In Wisconsin, the race is for the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Democrat Judge Susan Crawford is clearly more qualified and more, well, judge-like than her opponent Brad Shimel, but their temperaments and characters are not the only issues.
The winner in Wisconsin could well determine voting districts and, hence, the likelihood that the state provides more Democratic or Republican representatives in the 2026 midterms and swings Republican or Democrat in the 2028 presidential race.
Musk is a big factor. He’s already sunk a small fortune into backing the Republican candidate for Wisconsin Supreme Court — along with the same kind of million-dollar giveaway stunt he used in the presidential race.
Last night, Musk gave out two $1 million checks. One of the two recipients? The head of the Wisconsin College Republicans.
A new video released by Musk’s America PAC is further evidence that Musk’s massive cash giveaways are illegal vote buying. In the clip, a Wisconsin woman named Ekaterina Deistler, who won one of his $1 million prizes, explicitly links her financial windfall to following Musk’s instructions—including voting.
The richest man in the world has no compunctions about throwing his wealth behind the worst possible candidates in America — as when he plunked down over a quarter trillion dollars to get Trump elected.
He has also used — or threatened to use — his wealth to back anyone who runs in a primary election against any Republican member of Congress who doesn’t totally support Trump. It’s an extortion racket that is not only helping to keep congressional Republicans silent and pliable, but has no legitimate place in our democracy.
If there was ever a symbol of why we need to get big money out of politics, reform campaign financing, stop conflicts of interest, and tax great wealth, Musk is it.
Not incidentally (speaking of conflicts of interest) Musk’s auto company, Tesla, has a case against Wisconsin pending in the state’s courts.
Polls opened in Wisconsin at 7am CT and will close at 8pm CT. If the margin of victory is large, the race could be called early. If close, it could come down to absentee ballots in Milwaukee, which are likely heavily Democratic and might not be fully counted until midnight or later.
The early vote appears more favorable to Judge Crawford than it was to Harris in 2024—which is good news for Crawford, although the GOP early vote has shot up relative to previous Wisconsin Supreme Court races.
One final and more general thought about these two elections today.
They’re extraordinary expensive and prominent. That’s because they’re both viewed as potential harbingers of what’s in store for Republicans or Democrats in future elections, both special elections and the 2026 midterms.
No one knows which direction the political winds are blowing and how hard, because America has never been in the place it’s in right now — with a tyrannical president aided by the richest person in the world.
Democrats have had reason to crow recently about flipping Republican-held state legislative seats in recent special elections in Iowa and Pennsylvania. On Saturday, voters in Louisiana rejected four proposed constitutional amendments backed by Republican Gov. Jeff Landry that would have overhauled parts of the state’s tax codes and toughened penalties for juvenile offenders.
A victory by Josh Weil in Florida and/or Judge Crawford in Wisconsin could put wind in the sails of the Trump resistance. Let’s all hope that Floridians in the 6th district and the good people of Wisconsin do what the nation needs them to do.
NOW READ: The worst political decision since Nixon taped himself committing crimes
Robert Reich is a professor of public policy at Berkeley and former secretary of labor. His writings can be found at https://robertreich.substack.com/
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