MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin appellate court denied the state Democratic attorney general's request to stop billionaire Elon Musk from handing over $1 million checks to two voters at a rally planned for Sunday, just two days before a closely contested Supreme Court election.
The denial Saturday by the Wisconsin court of appeals is the latest twist in Musk’s deep involvement in the race, which has set a record for spending in a judicial election and has become a litmus test for the opening months of Donald Trump’s presidency. Trump and Musk are backing Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel in the race, while Democrats are behind Dane County Judge Susan Crawford.
Attorney General Josh Kaul filed the lawsuit Friday, arguing that Musk's offer violates the law. Kaul on Saturday later appealed to the state Court of Appeals, after a county court judge refused earlier in the day to hear the request for an emergency injunction to block the payments.
Musk plans a rally Sunday where he intends to give a pair of Wisconsin voters $1 million each for signing an online petition against “activist” judges. He is also offering $100 to anyone who signs it; he previously gave $1 million to a Green Bay man who signed.
Musk and groups he funds have poured more than $20 million into the race, while Democratic megadonors, including George Soros, back Crawford. The race will determine ideological control of the court. Liberals currently hold a 4-3 majority but a retirement this year puts the majority in play. The election concludes Tuesday.
Kaul argued Musk's promised payments violated a state law making it a felony to give voters anything of value in exchange for them voting.
Musk’s political action committee used a nearly identical tactic before the presidential election last year, offering to pay $1 million a day to voters in Wisconsin and six other battleground states who signed a petition supporting the First and Second Amendments. A judge in Pennsylvania said prosecutors failed to show the effort was an illegal lottery and allowed it to continue through Election Day.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court race comes as the court is expected to rule on abortion rights, congressional redistricting, union power and voting rules that could affect the 2026 midterms and the 2028 presidential election.
Musk initially said in a post on his social media platform, X, that he planned to “personally hand over” $2 million to a pair of voters who have already cast their ballots in the race. Kaul asked the court to order Musk to stop promoting the Sunday giveaway and to not make any future payments to Wisconsin voters.
Even though Musk’s initial post was deleted, there has been no announcement that the payments will not be made, Kaul argued in the lawsuit.
Associated Press writer Scott Bauer contributed to this report.
FILE - This combination of file photos shows Brad Schimel, former Republican attorney general Brad Schimel, in Madison, Wis., Jan. 5, 2015, and Susan Crawford in June 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Manis, Susan Crawford for Wisconsin, File)
Elon Musk departs the White House, Friday, Mar. 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
The tip of Michigan's mitten struggled through another day without electricity Tuesday as restless residents tried to stay warm while utilities scrambled to restore power in a region waylaid by weekend freezing rain that brought down countless trees and poles.
Schools in several counties were closed again at the top of the Lower Peninsula. Sheriff's deputies armed with chain saws cleared roads and were even delivering oxygen for the homebound. Drivers idled their vehicles in gas station lines that were blocks long.
Northern Michigan lives with crazy weather — Gaylord got 199 inches (5 meters) of snow this winter — but this wave is much different.
“It's an ice situation. The trees and power lines are loaded, literally,” Charlevoix County Sheriff Chuck Vondra said. "Everything is caving in."
More than 170,000 power outages were reported statewide Tuesday night in Michigan, according to poweroutage.us, down from 300,000-plus earlier in the week. But in some areas, entire communities have been without electricity since Saturday.
The Cheboygan County sheriff said residents should consider leaving town if they have another place to stay. Running on generators, Petoskey City Hall and part of Odawa Casino were turned into 24-hour havens for people to warm up and charge phones. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she was sending the Michigan National Guard to help with restoration efforts.
“The challenge is the debris, impassable roads, and hundreds of downed poles. Each pole takes hours to replace,” said Presque Isle Electric & Gas Co-op, one of many utilities in the region
Petra Tank, 32, of Petoskey said she finally decided to drive 25 miles (40 kilometers) to a friend's home for warmth and a shower Monday.
“I realized, ‘Oh, this is a big deal. We’re not going to be back at work this week,’” said Tank, who has a tailor shop.
“We've been sitting ducks for three days without power, and the morale is officially starting to lower because our homes are only getting colder. … It's just kind of free-for-all,” she told The Associated Press.
The Alpena News in Alpena couldn't publish a newspaper Monday or Tuesday, but it planned to finally have a print edition Wednesday. Managing Editor Torianna Marasco said she posted stories online by traveling outside the area for internet access.
The Mackinac Bridge, a 5-mile (8-kilometer) span connecting Michigan’s two peninsulas, has been closed at times because of thick ice falling from towers and cables.
A relief agency, Convoy of Hope, was loading trucks with food and water for a trip to northern Michigan, said Mike Way, pastor of Center Point Assembly church in Charlevoix.
“Everybody right now is on pins and needles. It's my understanding that more snow and ice are coming," Way said. ”We're not out of the woods yet."
The staff at Tom's Family Market in Onaway used flashlights to help desperate customers find food in a pinch.
“Don’t tell the governor," owner Bryan Madison told The Detroit News, "but we ain’t collecting tax.”
Associated Press writer Tammy Webber contributed to this report.
Piper Kuzel, 5, watches her father, Jesse Kuzel of Charlevoix, Mich., fill gas containers at the Ellsworth Farmers Exchange Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in Ellsworth, Mich., as his family has been using heat from their home's natural gas stove to keep warm with power outages widespread following the ice storm. (Jan-Michael Stump/Traverse City Record-Eagle via AP)
Sgt. Mitch Wallin of the Emmet County Sheriff's Department walks past ice-coated trees as he and Sgt. Tyler Midyett, not pictured, clear branches from along Eppler Road in Petoskey, Mich, Tuesday, April 1, 2025, as cleanup from the weekend's ice storm continues. (Jan-Michael Stump/Traverse City Record-Eagle via AP)
A crew from 5H Irrigation and Maintenance clears downed limbs from yards in Petoskey, Mich., Tuesday, April 1, 2025, as clean up from the weekend's ice storms continues across northern lower Michigan. (Jan-Michael Stump/Traverse City Record-Eagle via AP)
An Antrim County Road Commission crew clears branches and trees hanging near Atwood Road from ice build up Tuesday, April 1, 2025, near Ellsworth, Mich., following weekend storms that deposited as much as one inch of ice over areas of northern lower Michigan. (Jan-Michael Stump/Traverse City Record-Eagle via AP)
Sgt. Tyler Midyett of the Emmet County Sheriff's Department works along with Sgt. Mitch Wallin, not pictured, to clear fallen trees from along Eppler Road in Petoskey, Mich., Tuesday, April 1, 2025, as cleanup from the weekend's ice storm continues. (Jan-Michael Stump/Traverse City Record-Eagle via AP)
Debris and ice-covered trees cover Curtisville Road that turns into Ausable Valley River Road in Oscoda County, Mich. on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (Kaytie Boomer /The Bay City Times via AP)
This aerial view shows ice-covered trees off of Eggleston Road and Curtisville Road in Oscoda County, Mich. on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (Kaytie Boomer /The Bay City Times via AP)
This aerial view shows ice-covered trees off of Eggleston Road and Curtisville Road in Oscoda County, Mich. on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (Kaytie Boomer /The Bay City Times via AP)
Debris and ice-covered trees cover Curtisville Road that turns into Ausable Valley River Road in Oscoda County, Mich. on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (Kaytie Boomer /The Bay City Times via AP)
