Democrats are saying the quiet part out loud — if their candidate wins the Wisconsin Supreme Court race next week, it will bolster their chances of forcing the state to adopt new congressional maps and weaken the GOP’s hand in the U.S. House.
The race between Susan Crawford, the Democrat-backed Dane County circuit court judge, and Brad Schimel, the Republican-backed Waukesha circuit court judge and former state attorney general, has garnered considerable attention because it will determine whether the state’s high court — which is expected to take up cases on abortion, elections and collective bargaining rights — maintains a liberal majority.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is playing up the race’s importance by focusing on how it could lead to political map changes that reshape Wisconsin’s congressional delegation to more accurately reflect the swing state’s electorate.
“Wisconsin is a 50-50 state, but there are six Republicans and only two Democrats out of an eight-person delegation because the lines are broken, and as soon as possible we need to be able to revisit that and have fair lines,” Mr. Jeffries said.
The New York Democrat made the remarks during an online conversation Tuesday with Ken Martin, the newly minted chair of the Democratic National Committee, who nodded in agreement.
“The only way for that to be even a significant possibility is if you have an enlightened Supreme Court,” Mr. Jeffries said. “So I think that is an incredibly important race.”
The focus on the potential battle over Wisconsin’s congressional maps has intensified ahead of Tuesday’s election, with Republicans warning that Democrats believe redrawn layouts could help them oust Reps. Derrick Van Orden and Bryan Steil.
Republicans hold a 218-213 majority in the U.S. House.
In an X Space conversation this week, Elon Musk, who has spent more than $13 million on behalf of Mr. Schimel, said the “most consequential” aspect of the race is that it will decide how the congressional districts will be drawn in Wisconsin.
“If the other candidate wins, instead of Justice Schimel, Democrats will attempt to redraw the districts and cause Wisconsin to lose two Republican seats,” Mr. Musk said on the call, which included Mr. Schimel and Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson. “In my opinion, that is the most important thing, which is a big deal, given that the congressional majority is so razor-thin.
“It could cause the House to switch to Democrat if that redrawing takes place, and we won’t be able to get through the changes the American people want.”
Democrats and their allies targeted state legislative maps shortly after Janet Protasiewicz, the liberal candidate, won a 2023 state Supreme Court race, flipping the court’s ideological makeup.
The challenge led to the adoption of new legislative maps last year, helping Democrats flip 14 seats in the Legislature in what was otherwise a strong cycle for Republicans.
Now as the campaign closes in on April 1, Wisconsin GOP Chairman Brian Schimming warns donors that a similar situation will unfold if Judge Crawford outpaces Judge Schimel, leading to Democrats fighting to usher in new congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
“If she wins, there is not a person on the Earth dumb enough to think the court will not take up the congressional map,” Mr. Schimming told The Washington Times. “I absolutely believe that they will move on that issue, and they will not spend any time screwing around.”
