Billionaire entrepreneur and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has announced he will spend less on political campaigns, following his last big investment’s failure in Wisconsin. Musk’s decision comes after the Republican candidate he backed in the state’s Supreme Court race lost by 10 percentage points.
Musk said he plans to focus more on his businesses, seven weeks after the court race. However, some Democrats say Musk’s comments show they were successful in making him “toxic” in politics.
Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Ben Wikler stated, “The people have won. The biggest funder in Republican politics is taking his toys and going home.” Musk spent at least $3 million on the Wisconsin Supreme Court race himself and another $19 million through America PAC and Rebuilding America’s Future.
Musk’s efforts were seen as unsuccessful in influencing the outcome of the election, with the candidate he backed losing Brown County by 3 percentage points. The announcement comes just hours after a liberal judge announced her candidacy for the 2026 Wisconsin Supreme Court race, which could potentially create a challenge to Musk’s future involvement in politics.
Despite this, some Republicans believe Musk can still be involved in future races if he does so more discreetly, as he had such a large profile that “he became the campaign. He became the story.”
Source: https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-wisconsin-campaign-donations-2aabeb33e70915c88bcc9ba2df3327c6