By Dan Rather

Money can’t buy love, nor, apparently, a Wisconsin court seat.

You may not have heard of Susan Crawford, but the Wisconsin judge, a liberal backed by Democrats, won a seat on the state Supreme Court last night. The victory means the court will maintain its 4-3 liberal majority. But this race was much bigger than Crawford, the court, or Wisconsin. It was seen as a national referendum on Donald Trump’s first 100 days and Elon Musk’s money.

The voters’ verdict? Crawford trounced her opponent by 10 points in a battleground state Trump won just five months ago. It was a rare bit of good news for Democrats, who’ve been downing sorrow by the spoonful of late.

“In a moment of national darkness, Wisconsin voters lit a candle. Let the lesson of Wisconsin’s election ring out across the country,” Ben Wikler, chairman of the Wisconsin Democratic Party, said. “From here on out, it’s clear that when Elon Musk comes to town, Republicans should flee.”

The race was being watched as a harbinger of the 2026 midterms, and because the court may rule on abortion access and redistricting in Wisconsin, which could mean more congressional seats for Democrats. Perhaps most important, it was a test for the man pulling most of the headlines and the strings during Trump’s second term — Elon Musk, the unelected, unvetted, unsupervised billionaire responsible for causing heavy wreckage to the fundamentals of American government.

The richest man in the world spent $25 million trying to get conservative Judge Brad Schimel elected. He failed and failed big. The Musk money strategy included millions in ads, paying voters $100 to sign a petition against “activist judges” and $25 an hour to canvass — that’s three times Wisconsin’s minimum wage.

Musk was in Green Bay on Sunday, cheese hat on head, proclaiming the race was critical to Trump’s agenda and “the future of civilization.” At the rally he gave away $1 million checks to two Republican operatives, whom he dubbed spokespeople for his political organization.

Crawford’s win was a strong Trump-Musk rebuke. She specifically and pointedly ran her campaign against Musk and his millions. “I never could have imagined that I’d be taking on the richest man in the world for justice in Wisconsin,” she said in her acceptance speech.

There are some signs that Trump is beginning to realize Musk is a political liability. Politico is reporting Musk is about to “retreat” from the administration. Trump and Musk have apparently decided that it will “soon be time for Musk to return to his businesses and take on a more supporting role.” Which is akin to politicians getting pushed aside and being told they are “spending more time with their family.”

Trump endorsed Schimel, who went full MAGA, cheerleading for Trump and his agenda and wearing a Make America Great Again hat while campaigning. As a reminder, Schimel was running for the judiciary, designed to be a nonpartisan branch of state government.

Historically, a president’s first 100 days are a honeymoon of sorts, where the electorate, and to some extent the media, give the new administration breathing room to get its agenda underway.

But on Monday, Senator Cory Booker, Democrat from New Jersey, did something perhaps even more important for the opposition party. He stood up and brought the fight to the Senate floor.

With little fanfare, Booker began speaking at 7p.m. He said he would continue his protest for as long as he was physically able. In his speech, meant to galvanize Democrats, he ravaged Trump and his policies, calling out the president’s lawlessness and disdain for American values. It was a master class in how to oppose, resist, and attack.

“In just 71 days, the president of the United States has inflicted so much harm on Americans’ safety, financial stability, the core foundations of our democracy. These are not normal times in America. And they should not be treated as such in the United States Senate,” Booker said.

A bonus was that Booker broke segregationist Senator Strom Thurmond’s record for the longest speech on the Senate floor, coming in at 25 hours, five minutes. Thurmond spoke against the 1957 Civil Rights Act. Just after his 24-hour effort, the act passed.

Some are calling the record-breaking speech a stunt, but it was a commanding call for congressional Democrats to buckle down and fight. And the speech resonated. It was livestreamed on TikTok, garnering 350 million likes, according to Booker’s office.

“There’s a lot of people out there asking Democrats to do more and to take risks and do things differently,” Booker told reporters as he left the Senate floor. “I just think a lot of us have to do a lot more, including myself.”

By any reasonable analysis he isn’t wrong.

Dan Rather is a journalist, storyteller and lifelong reader. He helms the independent Team Steady on Substack.com.