Trump slams Susan Crawford ahead of showdown with Brad Schimel in ‘big’ Wisconsin Supreme Court race: ‘Radical left lunatic’ 

President Trump on Monday slammed Democrat-backed judge Susan Crawford as a “radical left lunatic” ahead of Tuesday’s high stakes Wisconsin Supreme Court election. 

“It’s a big race,” Trump said of the showdown between Crawford, a Dane County judge, and Brad Schimel, a Waukesha County judge and former Republican attorney general.

“It’s early going, so we’ll see what happens,” the president added in his remarks from the Oval Office, not wanting to make a prediction on the outcome of the race. 

Liberals currently hold a 4-3 majority in the Wisconsin Supreme Court, but if Schimel wins the ostensibly nonpartisan race, it would flip the ideological balance of the court to the conservative side.   

Trump, 78, noted that “Republicans typically don’t do very well” in the Badger State but said he “loves” Wisconsin after having won it in the 2016 and 2024 presidential elections.  

“I hope you get out and vote for the Republican,” the president continued. “The woman is a radical left lunatic, and let’s see who wins, but the woman will be very bad.”

On her campaign website, Crawford, who is backed by the nation’s most powerful union groups as well as Planned Parenthood and Emily’s List, touted her work defending abortion access and supporting organized labor as a private attorney. 

Schimel, who boasts about a career spent “locking up criminals,” warned on his campaign website that if liberals maintain their majority on the high court the body will “end parental rights” in education; “eliminate school choice”; “remove voter ID” laws; and “force biological males into girls’ bathrooms.” 

In the coming months, the Wisconsin Supreme Court is expected to rule on abortion rights, congressional redistricting, union power, and voting rules that could make or break the 2026 midterms and, eventually, the 2028 presidential election in the battleground state.

“Wisconsin is a big state, politically, and the Supreme Court has a lot to do with elections in Wisconsin,” Trump said, alluding to what’s on the line in the state.  

“Whoever it is in four years that runs, having Wisconsin is very big,” the president continued. “We won it early and big, but winning Wisconsin is a big deal.” 

“Therefore, the Supreme Court choice business, the one you’re talking about right now, it’s a big race.” 

The referendum has shattered records for national spending on judicial races, with about $81 million having been spent on both sides leading up to the election. 

Elon Musk, the head of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, stumped for Schimel in Wisconsin on Sunday, where he also handed out $1 million checks to two Wisconsin voters who signed an online petition against “activist” judges. 

“I think this will be important for the future of civilization,” Musk said of the race. “It’s that’s significant.”

Crawford led Schimel 51% to 49% in a Trafalgar Group/InsiderAdvantage poll released Monday. 

The conservative, however, was within the poll’s 2.9% margin of error.  

“These off-cycle special election races always depend on turnout,” Matt Towery of InsiderAdvantage and Robert Cahaly of Trafalgar Group said in a joint statement. 

The pollsters noted that among respondents who voted early, Crawford led by a 55%-45% margin, but among “likely voters,” Schimel led by 53%-47%.

“These type[s of] races are difficult to poll, as turnout is difficult to predict … and these contests are all about voter turnout and intensity,” Towery and Cahaly said. 

The winner of Tuesday’s election will serve a 10-year term in the state’s high court.