In a nation teeming with easy targets for political criticism, the landmark Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission case doesn’t just stand alone at the top of the list. It’s nearest rival might not even be within earshot.
The Supreme Court’s much-opposed 2010 ruling that found laws banning political contributions from corporations and unions are a violation of First Amendment free speech rights remains a powder keg issue for Americans. Polls taken immediately after the decision went public showed 80 percent of respondents opposed it, with 65 percent strongly opposing. Five years later, 84 percent insisted money has “too much” influence on elections in the post-Citizens United nation. A 2023 poll found that 77 percent still felt that way.
Campaign finance reform is maybe the lone talking-point on which rank-and-file members of the Democratic and Republican parties nationwide are in somewhat overwhelming agreement. Yet, Congress has done nothing to provide the people with what they clearly want. Recently, Constitutional amendments were put forward in the Senate and House that would render Citizens United moot, but they barely made a ripple on the national news.
That brings us to the one of the most disgusting displays of election spending in American history, which played out last week in Wisconsin as Susan Crawford, a circuit court judge in Dane County, outlasted former Republican attorney general Brad Schimel for a 10-year term on the Badger State’s highest court.
The numbers and facts related to the amount of money spent on a race for a judgeship in an early spring election, off-year, are rather mind-boggling:
- No judicial race ever hit the $60 million in spent contributions in the nation’s history. This one topped $100 million.
- The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that more than 100,000 donors from all 50 states contributed to one of the campaigns or to the state parties.
- A large percentage of the total funds raised came from billionaires, the Journal Sentinel found. Investor and philanthropist George Soros donated $2 million to the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, which shipped the money to the Crawford campaign. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, a fellow billionaire hotel magnate who is also the governor of Illinois, chipped in $1.5 million.
- Easily the world’s wealthiest person and the leader of President Donald Trump’s controversial Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk and his political groups combined to spend more than $20 million on the race. His automobile company, Tesla Inc., happens to have a lawsuit against Wisconsin over a state law that requires car manufacturers to sell their products through independent dealerships.
Unlike Pennsylvania, where candidates for state judgeships can be affiliated to a political party on the ballot, judicial races in Wisconsin are supposed to be nonpartisan. That’s ideal, but not remotely attainable in a time when the campaign finance rules so favor big business and the ultra wealthy that endorsements from current and former presidents and televised attack ads carry plenty of weight at the ballot box.
Certainly, much was at stake for citizens of Wisconsin in that election; Namely, a one-judge majority on the nine-member Supreme Court that has addressed gerrymandering and abortion rights laws in recent years. But as state courts potentially can play increasingly important roles in reinforcing democracy in changing times for the federal government, it’s discouraging to see judicial elections polarized and politicized by influencers with no vote, no say and no stake in the proceedings.
That’s why states need to push the boundaries on campaign finance reform in judicial elections, to find ways as New York City did with its public campaign financing policies to incentivize raising smaller donations from their own citizens to minimize dark money and outside influence.
Those who sit on the bench in state courts should be beholden to state law and the people affected most by it. But when $100 million is riding on it, it’s fair to wonder if important decisions are made to please the people, or to satisfy Elon Musk and George Soros.
Originally Published: April 6, 2025 at 12:00 AM EDT
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