Wisconsin’s spring election wrapped Tuesday, April 1, 2025, with big wins and record-breaking turnout, shaking up this purple state as results rolled in through Wednesday, April 2, the numbers showed Dane County Judge Susan Crawford winning a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat, State Superintendent Jill Underly securing another term, and voters locking photo ID rules into the state constitution. It was a messy, high-stakes, $100 million fight—with Elon Musk and Donald Trump deep in the mix.
Crawford beat Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel to secure a 10-year term and preserve the court’s 4-3 liberal majority. With 98% of ballots counted, Crawford pulled 55.3% (around 1.32 million votes) to Schimel’s 44.7% (about 1.07 million), a 252,000-vote margin, according to The Washington Post. She dominated Dane County 70–30 and flipped La Crosse County 64–36—outpacing Kamala Harris’s 60% there in November 2024. Schimel held firm in conservative areas like Fond du Lac (60–40) and Ozaukee (58–42), but rural turnout couldn’t close the gap. Trump won Wisconsin by just 0.86 points in 2024—about 20,000 votes—making Crawford’s margin stand out.
And it didn’t come cheap. Over $100 million poured into the race, smashing the previous $51 million record set in 2023. Musk dumped in $19 million for Schimel, with Trump boosting him hard on Truth Social, calling him “tough on crime.” Democrats turned Musk into the villain, hammering his Tesla lawsuits—one of which could land before this court. Crawford leaned into it. “We beat the richest man in the world,” she told supporters in Madison. Schimel conceded in Pewaukee: “I gave it everything, but the people spoke.” The liberal majority—set since Janet Protasiewicz’s win in 2023—lives on, with abortion rights, redistricting, and possibly Tesla on deck.
The state superintendent’s race drew less heat but still mattered. Jill Underly secured a second term, defeating Brittany Kinser 58.1% to 41.9% (1.39 million to 1 million), with 95% of votes in. Underly, backed by Democrats and the Wisconsin Education Association Council, ran on keeping public schools funded and intact. Kinser, buoyed by conservative donors and Musk-aligned education critics, pushed vouchers and cuts—but came up short. “This is about kids, not politics,” Underly said at her Milwaukee victory party. She’ll continue overseeing education for 860,000 public school students.
Voters also approved a constitutional amendment to require photo ID for voting—a rule already in place since 2013 but now locked into the constitution. About 60.2% (1.44 million) voted “yes,” and 39.8% (950,000) voted “no,”. It’s a clear win for Republicans and Trump, who posted “Voter ID is SAFE!” on Truth Social.
Turnout smashed records—2.4 million voters showed up, a 40% jump over 2023’s 1.8 million, says NYT analyst William P. Davis. Early votes topped 600,000. Milwaukee ran out of ballots by midmorning Tuesday and had to rush in more by noon.
This was Wisconsin’s first major statewide vote since Trump’s 2024 squeaker, and the mixed results show just how split the state remains. Crawford’s win stings for Musk and Trump, but the voter ID amendment hands conservatives a big policy victory.
With the 2026 midterms on the horizon, Wisconsin remains a fight zone. Liberals hold the court, conservatives notch a legislative win, and everyone’s still counting.