OCONOMOWOC, Wis. (AP) — Donald Trump Jr. told Republicans at a Monday rally that a win in Wisconsin’s high-stakes Supreme Court race is imperative to protect his father’s agenda and maintain GOP momentum ahead of the 2026 midterms and the next presidential election.
President Donald Trump’s oldest son appeared with right-wing provocateur Charlie Kirk at the event organized by Turning Point USA, a conservative youth group Kirk founded. Trump Jr. urged supporters of his father to vote in the lower-turnout Supreme Court election in two weeks.
“They can’t just show up when he happens to be on the top of that ticket,” Trump Jr. said of his father. “You have to engage because it’s not just about now, it’s about that future. This presidency can be put to a halt with this vote.”
Trump Jr. cast the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, which he dubbed “one little battle,” as essential to stopping Democrats who are determined to block the Trump agenda.
“It’s everything,” he said.
The winner of the April 1 election will determine whether conservative or liberal justices control the battleground state’s highest court as it faces cases over abortion and reproductive rights, the strength of public sector unions, voting rules and congressional district boundaries.
Hundreds of people attended Monday’s event in deep-red Waukesha County the night before early voting begins in the race that’s nonpartisan in name only.
The Republican-backed court candidate, Brad Schimel, was there along with a bevy of other Wisconsin GOP heavy hitters including former Gov. Scott Walker, the state party chairman, national committee members, state lawmakers, a member of the state elections commission and others.
Schimel, a Waukesha County judge and former Republican state attorney general, faces Democratic-supported Susan Crawford, a Dane County judge. The race is seen as a litmus test of how a swing state’s voters are responding to the first months of Trump’s presidency.
Schimel urged those who voted for Trump in November to turn out for him starting Tuesday.
“Do you think the job is done?” Schimel said. “We have to stay vigilant, and we have to stay on this.”
Schimel is a longtime backer of Trump and attended his inauguration in January. On Saturday, Schimel attended a “Mega MAGA rally” and posed for a picture in front of an oversized inflatable Trump with its fist raised and a “Vote Brad Schimel Supreme Court” poster on its chest.
Wisconsin Democratic Party spokesperson Joe Oslund, reacting to the event with Trump Jr., accused Schimel of “bending the knee to Trump — any Trump he can find.”
The president has not endorsed anyone in the race.
But Trump backers at the rally said they hoped he would engage to help Schimel win.
“I can’t overemphasize the importance of this election,” Trump voter Soslan Temanson, 26, of Westfield said. “I think it’s important Trump went all-in on Wisconsin.”
Wisconsin has a long history of razor-thin presidential elections, but in the last state Supreme Court race in 2023 the liberal candidate won by 11 points. Republicans, led by Elon Musk, have been pouring money into this year’s contest to avoid another loss.
The race is the most expensive court race in U.S. history, attracting more than $11 million in spending from groups backed by billionaire Musk, the CEO of Tesla and a top adviser to Trump.
Billionaire Democrats, including philanthropist George Soros and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, are spending to help Crawford in the race. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the vice presidential nominee last year, is crossing the border on Tuesday night to host an anti-Musk town hall with Democrats in Wisconsin to encourage early voting. Former Democratic Attorney General Eric Holder was campaigning for Crawford in Milwaukee on Tuesday.
