| By Big Radio News Staff |
Rock County voters got a double dose of Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates as judges Susan Crawford and Brad Schimel both paid visits to Janesville on Monday.
With just a week left before election day April 1, both candidates seek to spark a late surge of interest in voting, hoping they can activate sidelined voters in an election for state Supreme Court that they say the rest of the nation is watching.
Crawford, the Democrat judge, and Schimel, the Republican judge, both stopped off in downtown Janesville on Monday — both to make separate appearances here. It’s part of a last-minute swing through the state by both candidates, with stops planned in key battleground counties across Wisconsin.
Crawford joked to the crowd that billionaire and White House advisor Elon Musk is her true “opponent” in the April 1 election.
Crawford was referring to campaign contributions and other support on the trail to Schimel that have come from groups Musk supports. Crawford hinted that Schimel is being wooed with cash by big donors.
Musk’s company, electric vehicle maker Tesla, recently filed a lawsuit that seeks to broaden Tesla’s reach into the automotive market in Wisconsin.
Crawford touted her work as a prosecutor fighting Act 10, a 2011 law that crimped health benefits for most public employees. She also touched on her work representing Planned Parenthood in court, making clear her ongoing opposition to abortion bans.
On Monday, at his separate event in Janesville, Schimel told the crowd about the phone call he got from President Donald Trump last Friday. The call ended with Trump saying he’d endorse Schimel for state Supreme Court.
Schimel says he garnered the President’s approval after he promised Trump he would “restore Wisconsin’s Court” by pulling it away from those who Schimel calls “activist judges.”
Schimel also attacked Crawford for a campaign ad he says misconstrues a light punishment that Schimel gave a male military veteran accused of domestic violence. He says the man had PTSD from military combat, and was being treated.
Schimel decried Crawford’s campaign spending what he says is “$20 million” on attack ads.
Combined, both candidates have raised more than $50 million in campaign cash.
Dorothy Danielson of Janesville was at Crawford’s appearance Monday. Danielson told Big Radio she thinks Wisconsin’s Supreme Court race has nationwide implications. She says voters around the country are watching the impact of big campaign spending in statewide races.
Both Danielson and Schimel echoed the same sentiments on voter turnout.
Schimel told supporters in Janesville that the April 1 election is a “turnout race,” explaining that the next state Supreme Court justice will most likely be the candidate whose supporters can convince the biggest number of undecided and sidelined voters to head to the polls.
