Wisconsin’s attorney general is asking the state’s highest court to block Elon Musk from handing out $1 million checks to voters in the state on Sunday night, just two days before the state’s supreme court election. Republicans say that if they don’t win on Tuesday, the new liberal majority on the court could redraw congressional maps to help favor Democrats next year. 

Mr. Musk has invested heavily in this year’s supreme court race to boost conservative county judge Brad Schimel because there is an opening for conservatives to retake the majority. The court currently has a 4–3 liberal majority, but a liberal justice’s retirement has opened a path for a Republican-backed candidate to take control. Mr. Musk announced on Friday that he would be traveling to the state to discuss the race on Sunday. 

“On Sunday night, I will give a talk in Wisconsin. Entrance is limited to those who have voted in the Supreme Court election,” Mr. Musk wrote on X. “I will also personally hand over two checks for a million dollars each in appreciation for you taking the time to vote.”

While Mr. Musk may be the most high-profile activist in this race, he is far from the only billionaire involved. Democrats and Republicans combined are on track to spend around $100 million on the court election, compared to the previous record of $51 million just two years ago. 

For the Republicans, Mr. Musk — through his two groups, America PAC and Building America’s Future — is set to spend north of $15 million by Tuesday. For the Democrats, Governor Pritzker has donated $1.5 million and hedge fund billionaire George Soros has given $2 million to the state party, which then transferred the funds to Judge Crawford’s campaign. LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman — once a close friend and business partner of Mr. Musk — has spent $250,000 to support the liberal candidate. 

The latest poll from SoCal Strategies shows Judge Crawford leading Judge Schimel by eight points, 50 percent to 42 percent. In 2023, the liberal candidate beat the conservative by 11 points.

In his original post announcing the $1 million checks, Mr. Musk wrote that Wisconsin voters would only be eligible for the money if they signed his pledge denouncing “activist judges,” though he later deleted that post.

The chairman of the state Democratic Party, Ben Wikler, said in a statement that Mr. Musk should be arrested for the giveaway. 

“Elon Musk has committed a blatant felony by offering money for votes in order to help Brad Schimel. Musk’s illegal election bribery scheme to put Brad Schimel on the Supreme Court is a chainsaw attack on democracy and the rule of law in Wisconsin and our nation,” Mr. Wikler said. “If Elon Musk sets foot in Wisconsin, he should be placed in handcuffs and held accountable.”

The state’s attorney general, Josh Kaul, a Democrat, also filed a lawsuit against Mr. Musk at Dane County, and the Democratic opponent of Mr. Schimel, Judge Susan Crawford, was assigned the case. She quickly recused herself and the lawsuit was then given to a different judge. 

When the Dane County appeals court declined to block Mr. Musk’s $1 million sweepstakes, Mr. Kaul appealed to the state supreme court on Sunday morning — just hours before Mr. Musk is due to speak in the state. 

“As explained more fully in the memorandum, immediate injunctive relief is warranted here to stop Respondents’ ongoing illegal action. This Court should grant the petition for original action and issue an immediate temporary injunction,” the attorney general wrote in his filing on Sunday morning. 

Judge Schimel said on Sunday that he has nothing to do with Mr. Musk’s $1 million checks. 

“I don’t control any of the spending from any outside group, whether it’s Elon Musk or anyone else that has an organization spending money in this race. I’ve run a 72-county race in Wisconsin. I’ve campaigned in every county for 16 months,” Judge Schimel told Fox News Sunday. “I’m not running for anything for Elon Musk or any other person.”

This is not the first time Mr. Musk has handed out checks to like-minded political activists. During the 2024 election, he created a $1 million lottery through his America PAC for individuals in swing states who signed his pledge to vote for candidates who support lower federal spending, free speech, and the Second Amendment, among other things. The district attorney of Philadelphia County, Larry Krasner, sued to stop Mr. Musk from giving out cash to Pennsylvania voters, though a court declined to stop that giveaway.