After weeks of appeals from Wisconsin Republicans, President Trump on Friday night endorsed Brad Schimel, the conservative candidate in a hard-fought contest that will decide control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
“All Voters who believe in Common Sense should GET OUT TO VOTE EARLY for Brad Schimel,” Mr. Trump posted on his social media site. “By turning out and VOTING EARLY, you will be helping to Uphold the Rule of Law, Protect our Incredible Police, Secure our Beloved Constitution, Safeguard our Inalienable Rights, and PRESERVE LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.”
The endorsement of Judge Schimel was hardly surprising, but Wisconsin Republicans had eagerly awaited Mr. Trump’s intervention, hoping for a burst of conservative energy in their bid to upend the State Supreme Court’s 4-to-3 liberal majority.
Judge Schimel, a Waukesha County judge, has long been a Trump loyalist, repeatedly defending the president in public and dressing as him for Halloween last fall. Last weekend, Judge Schimel posed for a photo in front of a towering inflatable representation of Mr. Trump at a Republican Party dinner in Wisconsin.
Judge Schimel faces Susan Crawford, a liberal Dane County judge, in an April 1 election that has already broken spending records for a judicial contest. A super PAC funded by Elon Musk, the billionaire White House aide, has spent $6.6 million on canvassing and get-out-the-vote operations to back Mr. Schimel. The group has also promised $100 for any voter in Wisconsin who signs a petition “in opposition to activist judges,” an attempt to identify and turn out conservative voters.
For weeks, Judge Schimel and his allies have beseeched Mr. Trump to get involved in the race. Judge Schimel told a private group of supporters that he had asked Mr. Trump’s political aides to hold a rally on the judge’s behalf in the state. Former Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican, said in a recent interview that he had asked the White House to send Mr. Trump to Wisconsin.
Judge Crawford’s campaign did not seem impressed by Mr. Trump’s endorsement.
“Schimel has spent his entire career on bent knee to right-wing special interests,” said Derrick Honeyman, a campaign spokesman. “We assumed he had this endorsement locked up months ago.”