MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Abortion rights and the influence of donations from billionaires Elon Musk and George Soros took center stage in a sometimes testy debate Wednesday between candidates for the Wisconsin Supreme Court less than three weeks before the election.
The winner of the April 1 contest will determine whether conservative or liberal justices control Wisconsin's highest court as it faces cases over abortion and reproductive rights, the strength of public sector unions, voting rules and congressional district boundaries.
The race could be a litmus test early in President Donald Trump’s term in a key presidential swing state.
The race pits Republican-backed Waukesha County Circuit Judge Brad Schimel, a former attorney general, against Democratic-backed Dane County Circuit Judge Susan Crawford.
Here are highlights from the debate:
Abortion rights
A challenge to an 1849 state law that bans nearly all abortions is currently pending before the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Schimel, who is supported by anti-abortion groups, said he believes the 1849 ban “was a validly passed law. I don’t believe it reflects the will of the people of Wisconsin today.”
Schimel said the future of abortion rights should not be up to the Supreme Court, but should instead be decided by voters.
Crawford declined to take a position on the pending abortion case.
But she said she was proud to have supported Planned Parenthood in a pair of abortion-related cases when she was an attorney in private practice. She also spoke against the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade.
“This is a critical issue in this race," Crawford said. "My opponent has said he believes the 1849 law in Wisconsin is valid law and he’s trying to backpedal from that position now.”
Donations from billionaires Musk and Soros at issue
Crawford said that Musk, a close adviser to Trump, "has basically taken over Brad Schimel’s campaign.”
Groups funded by Musk have spent more than $10 million in support of Schimel on television ads and going door to door canvassing for his candidacy. One of those flyers says that Schimel would defend Trump's agenda as a member of the court.
“This is unprecedented to see this kind of spending on a race," Crawford said.
She said it was “no coincidence” that Musk started spending on the race days after his electric car company Tesla sued the state over its decision blocking it from opening dealerships in Wisconsin.
Schimel fired back, “If Elon Musk is trying to get some result in that lawsuit, he may be failing because I enforce the law and I respect the laws passed by the Legislature.”
Schimel said he has no control over outside donations, or the messages they spread.
He was asked, in light of the donations from Musk, if he would rule against Trump.
“If President Trump or anyone defies Wisconsin law and I end up with a case in front of me, I’ll hold them accountable as I would anybody in my courtroom,” Schimel said.
Donald Trump Jr. and political activist Charlie Kirk plan to co-host a town hall on Monday in Wisconsin that’s being billed as a get-out-the vote effort for Schimel.
Crawford has benefited from donations from prominent national Democrats such as Soros and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker who gave the state Democratic Party $1.5 million, which then donated it to Crawford's campaign.
Schimel called Soros “a dangerous person to have an endorsement from.”
When asked what the difference was between the Musk and Soros donations, Crawford said, “I have never promised anything and that is the difference."
Union rights
As an attorney, Crawford sued in an attempt to overturn the state’s law that effectively ended collective bargaining for public workers. That law, known as Act 10, was the centerpiece of former Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s tenure and made Wisconsin the center of the national debate over union rights.
A Dane County judge last year ruled that the bulk of the law was unconstitutional, and an appeal of that ruling is expected to come before the state Supreme Court.
Crawford said she “most likely” would recuse herself from a case challenging Act 10 if it were focused on the same provisions in the lawsuit she brought. But she said the current lawsuit is on different parts of the law.
When Schimel was attorney general, he said he would defend Act 10 and opposed having its restrictions also applied to police and firefighter unions, which were exempt from the law.
Schimel did not say in the debate whether he would recuse himself if a challenge to the law came before the court.
Voter ID
A measure on the April 1 ballot would enshrine Wisconsin's voter ID law in the state constitution.
Schimel said he will vote for the amendment. Crawford, who sued to overturn the voter ID law, declined to say how she would vote on the amendment.
Congressional redistricting
A challenge to the state's congressional district boundaries is expected to come before the court.
Crawford appeared at a briefing with donors earlier in the campaign that was billed in an email by organizers as a “chance to put two more House seats in play."
Crawford said in the debate that she didn't talk about redistricting during the call and the email sent by the organizers was “not an appropriate way to announce a judicial candidate.”
Schimel said it was hard for him to believe Crawford.
“We have to take my opponent’s word for it what happened on that phone call," he said.
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This story has been updated to correct that Soros and Pritzker donations amounted to $1.5 million, not $2 million.
Scott Bauer, The Associated Press
