Musk buys votes in Wisconsin—and pushes wacky conspiracy
Elon Musk traveled to Green Bay, Wisconsin, on Sunday and handed out checks to Wisconsin voters in an attempt to sway the upcoming election in favor of conservative state Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel.
Musk gave out two $1 million checks to voters during a town hall and said the outcome of the upcoming race would be “important for the future of civilization.” Musk claimed the voters were spokespeople for his political group, an attempt to work around Wisconsin laws against vote-buying.
Referencing a possible case before the court that could lead to redistricting of congressional seats, Musk openly worried that a liberal majority on the court could lead to Democrats being elected who oppose his ongoing efforts to attack the federal government through his so-called Department of Government Efficiency. That’s because the state is still recovering from a vicious Republican gerrymander, and electing Schimel could jeopardize that recovery.
Susan Crawford, the liberal candidate in the race, has called Musk’s efforts to buy the result of the race “immoral.”
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul, a Democrat, accused Musk of breaking anti-bribery state law and filed suit against Musk’s America PAC. The state Supreme Court declined to hear the case after it was also rejected by a county judge and the state appeals court.
Musk used a similar scheme last year in Pennsylvania as part of his plan to sway the presidential election in favor of Donald Trump. Musk’s group was sued by Philadelphia’s attorney general, but a judge said the prosecutors failed to show it was an illegal lottery.
Musk has also offered, in a plan resembling a pyramid scheme, to pay off people to hold up campaign signs backing Schimel.
“Easiest money you ever made!” Musk wrote in a post. “You don’t even need to be from Wisconsin, you just need to get people in the state to hold a picture of @TeamSchimel (can be on a phone/device or paper) in one hand and go thumbs up with the other hand. Every time you do that you get $20 and they get $20.”
Musk’s brazen attempts to use his enormous fortune—he is the wealthiest person on the planet—to pervert the American electoral system has come under intense criticism.
Writing about the Musk gambit in a guest column for Daily Kos, Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler asked, “Are we feudal serfs of the richest man in the world, Elon Musk? Or are we free?”
At the presidential level, Musk’s payoffs in service of Trump have led to the billionaire wielding enormous influence on American life, even though nobody voted him into office. DOGE has infiltrated multiple government agencies, purged thousands of employees, and has been repeatedly ruled against in court for violating laws.
Despite his actions, Musk bristled at criticism, showcasing once again that the billionaire has extremely thin skin.
As he spoke in Wisconsin, Musk was heckled. He then argued that the protesters were not real people concerned about his influence but were paid operatives of liberal financier George Soros.
“It was inevitable at least a few Soros operatives would be in the audience,” Musk whined. “Give my regards to George. Say hi to George for me.”
Conservatives have often depicted Soros, who is Jewish, as a puppet master behind events, invoking an antisemitic trope that goes back hundreds of years.
Not coincidentally, antisemitic content has grown on X, formerly known as Twitter, ever since Musk took control of the company.
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