WASHINGTON: Donald Trump's second presidency was dealt a spinning blow by voters in Wisconsin on Tuesday as they elected a liberal judge to the state's Supreme Court, despite his powerful advisor Elon Musk pouring millions into the race to sway the polls.
Two months into his barnstorming return to the White House, Trump celebrated victory in a pair of House races in Florida which remained in Republican hands.
But in the first real electoral test of his polarising presidency, his all-out effort to lodge a new Republican on the Wisconsin Supreme Court fell flat, as liberal judge Susan Crawford came out ahead of Trump-backed Brad Schimel, according to US media.
Trump appeared to ignore the results on social media, highlighting a separate Wisconsin ballot initiative requiring voters to present photo identification to cast a ballot.
"Voter I D just approved in Wisconsin election... this is a big win for Republicans, maybe the biggest win of the night," he posted on Truth Social late on Tuesday.
Musk, who has spearheaded Trump's attempts to gut much of the US government in a right-wing cost-cutting drive, went to Wisconsin to drum up support for Schimel.
"It's like one of those strange situations where a seemingly small election would determine the fate of Western civilisation here," Musk said in a discussion on his social media platform X on Tuesday.
The highlight of his weekend visit to the upper Midwestern state reprised a tactic seen during his efforts to help Trump defeat Democrat Kamala Harris in November — handing out money to anyone who signed a petition against so-called "activist judges."
Musk, too, refrained from commenting on Schimel's loss despite spending millions on the campaign, instead taking to X to post "Yeah!" on news of Wisconsin passing the voter ID initiative.
Senator Bernie Sanders, a major force on the left, told supporters on X they had "the power to REJECT Musk and the oligarchy buying our elections."
Beyond testing the public mood, the Wisconsin result will decide whether the state's Supreme Court — which rules on things like voting district boundaries — tilts majority left or right.
In Florida, two seats in the US House of Representatives were up for grabs to fill vacancies in Republican strongholds, left by Trump's National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and failed nominee for attorney general, Matt Gaetz.
On Tuesday evening, US media called the race for Florida's sixth district in favour of Republican Randy Fine, with Trump tweeting: "Congratulations Randy, a great WIN against a massive CASH AVALANCHE."
Shortly after, media outlets also called the special election in Florida's first district for Trump-backed Republican Jimmy Patronis.
Democrats have been adrift since losing the presidency to Trump Trump took credit for his party's victory in both deep red districts, posting on social media that "the Trump endorsement, as always, proved far greater than the Democrats forces of evil." — AFP
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