The liberal judge Susan Crawford won the race for a seat on the Wisconsin supreme court on Tuesday in a closely watched election. It is a major win for Democrats who had framed the race as a litmus test for Donald Trump’s and Elon Musk’s popularity.
Crawford, from Dane county, defeated Brad Schimel, a former Republican attorney general and conservative judge from Waukesha county, after Musk and groups associated him spent millions to boost his candidacy in what became the most expensive judicial contest in American history.
More than $80m was spent on the race, with Musk and affiliated groups spending more than $20m alone. Musk reprised some of the tactics that he used last fall to help Trump win, including offering $100 to people who signed a petition opposing “activist judges” and offering $1m checks to a smaller number of voters.
Liberal judge Crawford wins Wisconsin supreme court race
With more than 84% of the vote tallied, Susan Crawford led Brad Schimel by nearly 10 percentage points. The result means that liberals will keep a 4-3 ideological majority on the state supreme court. That majority is hugely significant because the court will hear major cases on abortion and collective bargaining rights. The court could also potentially consider cases that could cause the state to redraw its eight congressional districts, which are currently drawn to advantage Republicans.
Republicans win two seats in Florida special elections
Two US House of Representatives seats in Florida, vacated by cabinet appointees, went to Republicans on Tuesday, dashing Democratic hopes for an upset victory in the first federal special elections held since the president began his second term.
Democratic candidates Josh Weil and Gay Valimont were on track to lose the solidly red districts by much smaller margins than the more than 30 points that Democrats lost them by in November. Weil put up a stiff challenge in the eastern coastal district formerly represented by Mike Waltz, Trump’s national security adviser, rattling Republicans in a state they have dominated over the past decade. Weil, a Democratic public school teacher, had outraised Fine, a state senator, and a poll had shown them running practically neck-and-neck days before the election.
Cory Booker holds record-breaking Senate speech
Cory Booker, the Democratic US senator from New Jersey, has broken the record for longest speech ever by a lone senator – beating the record first established by Strom Thurmond, who spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes in opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1957.
“I rise with the intention of disrupting the normal business of the United States Senate for as long as I am physically able,” Booker said near the start of his speech. “I rise tonight because I believe sincerely that our nation is in crisis.” He concluded his speech after 25 hours and five minutes.
Thousands of US health agency workers laid off
Thousands of Health and Human Services employees across the country are being dismissed as the Trump administration began implementing its controversial workforce reduction plan, which could ultimately remove 10,000 staff from the department through forced layoffs. The job cuts mark the first tangible impact of health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr’s departmental overhaul announced last week.
EU has a ‘strong plan’ to retaliate on Trump tariffs
The European Union has a “strong plan” to retaliate against tariffs imposed by Donald Trump but would prefer to negotiate, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has said. Trump, who has upended eight decades of certainties about the transatlantic relationship since taking office, has threatened tariffs on goods from around the world from Wednesday.
Doge to fire all USAid local workers and US diplomats
Elon Musk’s cost-cutting team is finalizing the dismantlement of the US Agency for International Development, ordering the firings of thousands of local workers and US diplomats and civil servants assigned to the agency overseas, two former top USAID officials and a source with knowledge of the situation said on Tuesday.
US prosecutors to seek death penalty for Luigi Mangione
US attorney general Pam Bondi directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty for Luigi Mangione, the man accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel on 4 December.
What else happened today:
A comedian whose skit for White House reporters was canceled for fear of upsetting Trump skewered the journalists who dropped her in a biting late-night talkshow routine
The Trump administration acknowledged in court documents that a Maryland man with protected status was deported to El Salvador and blamed an “administrative error”.
Catching up? Here’s what happened on 31 March 2025.
