Watch the moment Elon Musk admits DOGE checks may never come
Elon Musk admitted that DOGE stimulus checks for taxpayers will be subject to congressional approval or President Donald Trump.
All eyes are on a pair of special elections in Florida and a contentious court race in Wisconsin Tuesday.
In the Badger State, conservative Brad Schimel faces liberal Susan Crawford. Despite being a nonpartisan race, the contest is an expected referendum on President Donald Trump, his adviser Elon Musk, as well as Democrats on the hunt for a national comeback.
In the lead up to Election Day, money from out-of-state donors has poured into Wisconsin. Musk is by far the largest contributor, having spent at least $20 million in effort to boost Schimel. On Tuesday, Musk handed out two checks for $1 million each to voters in Wisconsin.
Meanwhile in Florida, races in the state’s 1st and 6th Congressional Districts will fill two House seats vacated by former Republican Reps. Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz, respectively. Both stepped down after being tapped for positions in the Trump administration. Waltz is now Trump’s national security advisor, but Gaetz withdrew from consideration for attorney general.
The 1st District, in the state’s western panhandle, was represented previously by former Rep. Matt Gaetz, who resigned last November. The 6th, along the eastern coast of Florida, is Mike Waltz’s old seat. He left Congress earlier this year to become Trump’s National Security Advisor.
Here are the latest updates on both states’ elections.
The world’s richest man made an appearance in Green Bay, Wisc. Sunday evening, two days ahead of Election Day. During the 2,000-person rally, Musk donned a cheese wedge hat, implored voters to turn out for conservative Brad Schimel, and handed out two $1 million checks.
One of those grand prizes went to Nick Jacobs, chair of the Wisconsin College Republicans and vice chair of College Republicans at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.
Jacobs thanked Musk on X Tuesday, the platform owned by the tech entrepreneur, hours before polls close in the Badger State.
Musk’s expensive giveaways to voters were subject to scrutiny during the 2024 presidential election. Wisconsin’s Attorney General Josh Kaul, a Democrat, sought to block Musk from making any payments ahead of the contentious court race, but the state’s current liberal-leaning Supreme Court on Sunday rejected his request.
−Savannah Kuchar
The Wisconsin Supreme Court race is one of the first big electoral tests for President Donald Trump and his MAGA movement, and turnout is expected to be significant.
Election officials said Tuesday early voting exceeded 500,000 votes, which means the final tally could reach 2 million two million. That projection is slightly higher than the roughly 1.8 million Badger State voters who showed up in the 2023 state Supreme Court battle, for example.
The overall number of absentee ballots returned by mail or cast in person is up 54%, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Many believe that a higher turnout bodes well for Democrats, who are backing Susan Crawford, the liberal-leaning circuit court judge, but local reports point out that early voting surged in more conservative counties.
− Phillip M. Bailey
The race to fill Wisconsin’s seventh state Supreme Court seat shattered records for the country’s most expensive judicial election. The previous record of $51 million was set two years ago in Wisconsin.
This year, spending by both sides combined could exceed $100 million.
Much of that has come from Musk’s wallet. The world’s richest man has dropped about $20 million on Schimel’s campaign, including handing out multiple $1 million checks to individual voters.
Democratic donors have pitched in too. Billionaire George Soros and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker are among those who have forked over high dollar contributions for Crawford.
− Savannah Kuchar
Republicans are favored to win both races Tuesday, in ruby red districts that went for Trump last year by double digits.
Reports have shown the Democratic candidates surpassing their GOP opponents in fundraising. The numbers are raising concerns on the right and giving those on the left some cautious optimism.
“I think we’re going to overperform expectations,” in Florida, Ken Martin, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, told USA TODAY. “And there’s certainly a chance we could win.”
− Savannah Kuchar