In Wisconsin Supreme Court race, Crawford claims Schimel wants to be part of Trump support network

In the race for ideological control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, candidates Brad Schimel and Susan Crawford have clashed over a number of issues, including school choice, union rights, abortion and even Elon Musk.

Now, during a March 12, 2025, debate, Crawford, a liberal Dane County judge, accused Schimel, a conservative Waukesha County judge, of courting national Republican figures including Musk and Republican President Donald Trump.  

"Look, Brad Schimel said that he wanted to be part of Donald Trump's support network," Crawford said during the debate. "That's a very partisan statement, and that is exactly why Elon Musk is involved here; in the fact that he's got a Tesla lawsuit going in the state of Wisconsin and thinks it might be good to have some influence over the Wisconsin judiciary."

When it was his turn to speak, Schimel did not immediately address Crawford’s remark about his aim of being part of a Trump support network. But Crawford’s claim that Schimel "said that he wanted to be part of Donald Trump’s support network," piqued our interest. 

The wording is important. It amounts to Crawford characterizing what Schimel has said, which is what we will examine. It’s similar to a claim we did in which Schimel – without evidence of any past statements or rulings – declared that part of Crawford’s agenda was to "eliminate school choice."

Let’s take a look.

When asked for evidence to support the claim, Crawford’s campaign spokesman Derrick Honeyman pointed to news articles, only one of which was on point.

That March 6, 2025, article from the Wisconsin Examiner pointed to the video of Schimel speaking in Waukesha County to a group of canvassers associated with Turning Point USA — a right-wing political group led by conservative activist Charlie Kirk that has become active in Wisconsin’s Republican party. In the video posted to YouTube, Schimel tells the canvassers that after the election of Trump, "the job’s not done." 

"There are a heck of a lot of people who voted on Nov. 5 because they were excited about a movement for America who don’t see why they should vote again for April 1," Schimel told the audience. "They don’t understand that there’s more to it…Donald Trump doesn’t do it by himself. There has to be a support network around him." 

When we asked the Schimel campaign if they had any additional context for the remark, spokesman Jacob Fischer in an email sent a fuller transcript of the statement and added: "As you can see, he was talking about a network of support that is needed to win." 

Here is what the Schimel team sent, with the additional context in bold:

"There are a heck of a lot of people who voted on November 5 because they were excited about a movement for America, who don't see why they should vote again for April 1. They don't understand that there's more to it, that it wasn't just about - that Donald Trump doesn't do this by himself. There has to be a support network around him, and that, you know, they filed over 70 lawsuits against him since he took the oath of office barely a month ago, over 70 lawsuits to try to stop almost every single thing he's doing, because they don't want him to get a win. They're so desperate for him to not get a win that they won't let America have a win. That's what they're doing." 

While Fischer said the additional context indicates Schimel is talking about a "network of support that is needed to win," in our view, that is not entirely clear. Indeed, Schimel talks specifically about lawsuits being filed as a mechanism to stop Trump. 

So, Crawford is a bit off base in that Schimel did not directly say he wants to be part of a support network, Schimel certainly talked in the framework of a get-out-the-vote effort for his own candidacy, while citing lawsuits being used as a weapon to slow Trump down. 

The other article cited as backup by the Crawford campaign was a March 12, 2025 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel column by Daniel Bice, which described a mailer by Trump ally Musk’s super PAC that touted Schimel’s support for Trump. 

"Conservative Brad Schimel will support President Trump's agenda!" the mailer says. "Together, we won the White House. Now it's time to win the courthouse!"

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To be sure, the "now it’s time to win the courthouse" remark was not said by Schimel, and as such does not go directly to Crawford’s claim.

But it is one of several examples of Trump and his followers backing Schimel, and Schimel leaning into support from Trump.  

 Donald Trump Jr. and Turning Point Action founder Charlie Kirk backed Schimel in front of hundreds at a March 17, 2025 event in Oconomowoc. And on March 21, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform calling on his supporters to vote for Schimel. 

"All Voters who believe in Common Sense should GET OUT TO VOTE EARLY for Brad Schimel," Trump posted. 

Likewise, Schimel has been open about his support for Trump. According to a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report, he dressed up as Trump in a garbage worker outfit — a nod to Trump's donning of a reflective vest during the 2024 presidential campaign — while playing bass with his band at a Halloween party last year. He attended Trump’s inauguration earlier this year. And, while appearing at a March 15 ‘MEGA MAGA Rally’ in Waukesha County, Schimel posed for photos in front of an oversized Trump inflatable with a "Vote Brad Schimel Supreme Court" poster on its chest.The Schimel and Trump inflatable photo or references to it appeared online in various places, including the X account of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel columnist Dan Bice. 

During a debate, Crawford said: "Brad Schimel said that he wanted to be part of Donald Trump's support network." 

Clearly Schimel strongly supports President Trump and Trump has backed Schimel in the race, even though the race for the Wisconsin Supreme Court is technically non-partisan. In a nutshell, although Schimel does not come straight out and say he wanted to be part of a Trump support network, his public pronouncements and campaign literature clearly indicate his affinity for a Trump support network. 

For a statement that is accurate but needs clarification or additional information, our rating is Mostly True.