Americans Win

News Flash: You can’t buy a state supreme court election in Wisconsin.

Elon Musk, with his million-dollar checks, offended something fundamental in Americans. It’s been building across the country as he and DOGE slashed government jobs and services under the pretense of cutting fraud and waste. But anyone who isn’t thoroughly embalmed in the Kool-Aid understands that essential government workers are losing their jobs and parts of government we all rely on are being stripped out so Trump and Musk can claim justification for tax cuts for billionaires down the road. It’s not difficult to see that at this point.

Congress may not be offended by Donald Trump’s power grab, his efforts to strip them of the power of the purse, but Americans are.

It all came to a head last night in Wisconsin, where voters issued a resounding “No!” when Musk tried to tell them what was best for Wisconsin. Wisconsinites understood he didn’t have their best interests at heart and delivered the message that they aren’t for sale. Musk is for Musk. Trump is for Trump. Wisconsin voters had had enough.

Susan Crawford, now Justice Crawford, won with 55% of the vote. Even the counties where the Republican candidate won showed dramatic shifts towards the Democrats. He was about five points below where Trump was in 2024. Every single county in Wisconsin that had reported as of Wednesday morning had shifted towards the Democrats.

Is it the long-awaited awakening from the fever dream of Trump? It certainly looks like the start of something—a place from which the determination to keep democracy can build. The two House races in Florida went to Republicans, although in two ruby red districts (we think of the Florida Panhandle as lower Alabama here). Despite those predictable losses, there is strong message coming out of Tuesday: Our elections can still work, if we work on them.

We’ve seen Trump and Musk’s willingness to try and buy our elections. Even if they’re more covert about it in the future, we understand what their game is. And it’s up to us to solidly reject it.

2026 is coming and with it, our best chance to limit the damage the Trump administration can do by imposing new guard rails, in Congress, and in state and local government. So let’s get to work.

What can you do? There are a lot of options from running for office, to working on a campaign, to signing up as a poll worker and helping to run the elections themselves. It is not a time to be shy, or to wait for an invitation, just step up. It’s time to join a national group like The League of Women Voters or VoteRiders, who help people get the ID they need to vote. Or pick a local group to get involved with.

We will discuss options here on Civil Discourse for the next couple of months so everyone can find their place in plenty of time. I’m counting on all of you to share what you’re doing—In past elections, our conversations have motivated so many more people to get involved!

Wisconsin was the leading edge. We’ve got guard rails to rebuild in Congress, and also in state and local government. We are experiencing the worst of it right now, living through the long slow nightmare of a constitutional crisis where no one is truly safe. That’s all the incentive we need to get to work, and elections are what we have to work with as citizens. They can be as powerful as we are willing to fight to make them!

We’re in this together,

Joyce