BELOIT, Wis. — Elon Musk in a post on Friday said he'll give a talk in Wisconsin on Sunday for those who have signed his petition for opposition to "activist judges." The visit comes just days before the pivotal state Supreme Court election.
Musk had originally posted about his visit on Thursday night, saying the event would be open to those who had already voted in the state Supreme Court election. He later deleted the post to clarify the rally would only be open to those who signed his petition.
In the latest post about his visit, Musk said he’d be giving out checks for $1 million to two people that would be "spokesmen for the petition." He didn't say how the two people were chosen. The action was announced despite a Wisconsin law that explicitly prohibits giving anything of value in exchange for a vote.
Attorney General Josh filed a lawsuit asking the court to prevent Musk from "making illegal payments to Wisconsin voters at an event in Wisconsin this weekend."
On Friday, he clarified that it would be limited to those who have signed his America PAC’s petition.
Wisconsin GOP Chair Brian Schimming said Musk’s visit is welcome and much needed.
“We’re happy to bring any attention we can to the state, including President Trump's endorsement,” Schimming said.
The upcoming visit, and the giveaway, are raising alarm bells for liberal-leaning state Supreme Court candidate Susan Crawford.
“Either way they're doing it, it’s a really transparent effort to try to buy votes in Wisconsin,” Crawford said.
Crawford said the money giveaway, and Musk’s support of her opponent, Brad Schimel, points to a larger issue in this race.
She said it indicates partisanship in a race that’s meant to be non-partisan.
“He's been extremely partisan, going so far as to say that he wants to be on the Supreme Court to provide a support network for Trump,” Crawford said. “It's not what the Supreme Court is for.”
Republicans said that’s what Crawford is doing, too. Crawford has gained the support of Democrats such as George Soros and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker.
“They have no room to talk about money in the race because they've been doing it for a long time and they're just mad that conservatives have gone up,” Schimming said.
Rachel Ryan contributed to this report.
