A Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge arrested in April for allegedly helping a man evade immigration officers in her court could face up to six years in prison if convicted, according to an indictment handed down Tuesday by a federal grand jury.

Judge Hannah Dugan was arrested by FBI officials last month for allegedly "knowingly" helping an undocumented immigrant in her court evade ICE authorities and telling the officers in her court that they needed a warrant. She was indicted by a grand jury Tuesday federal charges of concealing a person from arrest and on obstruction of justice charges, under 18 U.S.C. Section 1505 and 18 U.S.C. Section 1071, respectively.  

On Wednesday, Dugan's legal team filed a motion to dismiss the federal case against her. They argued that the government "cannot prosecute Judge Dugan because she is entitled to judicial immunity for her official acts," and that "the government has no basis in law to prosecute her."

The indictment handed down by the grand jury one day prior accused Dugan of "falsely" telling federal officials in April that they needed a warrant to come into her court during a scheduled appearance by Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, an undocumented Mexican national who was in court on three misdemeanor battery charges.

Dugan told the officers to proceed to the chief judge's office to obtain a warrant, according to the criminal complaint, and she then escorted Flores-Ruiz through a side door to evade federal agents. 

MILWAUKEE COUNTY JUDGE HANNAH DUGAN INDICTED AFTER ALLEGEDLY HELPING ILLEGAL ALIEN EVADE ICE

If found guilty of both charges, Dugan could face up to six years in prison and up to $350,000 in fines.

She will appear in court on Thursday and is expected to enter a plea of not guilty, as indicated by a statement from her legal team on Tuesday.

"Judge Hannah C. Dugan has committed herself to the rule of law and the principles of due process for her entire career as a lawyer and a judge," her lawyers said, adding that their client further "asserts her innocence and looks forward to being vindicated in court."

Dugan's arrest and criminal charges have become a political lightning rod at a time when the Trump administration has moved to take sweeping actions to crack down on its immigration enforcement priorities. 

Her actions, while controversial, have also attracted an all-star legal defense team to argue in court on her behalf. 

Last month, her defense team tapped former Bush-era solicitor general Paul Clemente to represent her.

WISCONSIN JUDGE ACCUSED OF OBSTRUCTING ICE COULD FACE YEARS IN PRISON, DOJ HAS 'UPPER HAND': FORMER PROSECUTOR

Clemente, who was also on Trump's short list of Supreme Court nominees during his first term, is a well-respected litigator who has argued more than 100 cases before the Supreme Court. 

He is also not the only Bush-era powerhouse representing her in court. Steve Biskupic, a former U.S. attorney and a George W. Bush appointee, was tapped last month to head up the team, as first reported by Law.com. Others include Craig Mastantuono of Mastantuono Coffee & Thomas and Jason Luczak and Nicole Masnica of Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown.

Still, Dugan's actions have also sparked fierce backlash from Trump administration officials, including Attorney General Pam Bondi and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who have vowed to hold her accountable for her actions. 

"She will be held accountable for that," Noem told Fox News in an interview Tuesday night. "That was a great decision, coming forward, to recognize that nobody can facilitate breaking the law. 

"We shouldn’t be able to allow that in this country, and we need to make sure that even judges are held accountable for their actions," she added.

Fox News's Michael Dorgan and Greg Wehner contributed to this report. 

• I've traveled to all 50 states and love exploring the country's lesser-known state parks.
• Letchworth State Park in New York and Matthiessen State Park in Illinois have gorgeous waterfalls.
• Utah's Kodachrome Basin State Park feels like stepping into another world.

National parks have never been more popular, with record-breaking visitation in 2024. I understand why so many people flock to these iconic landscapes to see some of the most breathtaking scenery in the country.

However, after traveling solo to all 63 US national parks and all 50 states, I've discovered that some of the most stunning and underrated places aren't part of the national park system — they're state parks.

These hidden gems offer the same beauty, adventure, and solitude, often without the crowds, reservations, or permit hassles that come with national park visits. Here are some of my favorites.

Devil's Lake State Park in Wisconsin has something for everyone.

Despite being Wisconsin's most-visited state park, I find that many people I talk to don't know about Devil's Lake in Baraboo. However, it's my favorite of Wisconsin's 50 state parks.

In my opinion, the park's East and West Bluff trails offer some of the best panoramic views in the Midwest. Additionally, the massive rock formations — like Balanced Rock and Devil's Doorway — make it a favorite for hikers and rock climbers alike.

Beyond the cliffs, the park offers kayaking, swimming, and peaceful lakeside picnic areas, making it a perfect year-round destination.

Letchworth State Park in New York is home to stunning waterfalls.

Often nicknamed the "Grand Canyon of the East," Letchworth State Park is a natural wonder where the Genesee River carves through a deep gorge, creating three stunning waterfalls framed by towering cliffs.

With 66 miles of hiking trails, scenic overlooks, and endless opportunities for outdoor recreation, Letchworth is a paradise for nature lovers.

The park is especially magical in the fall, with its vibrant autumn foliage, making it one of the most spectacular leaf-peeping destinations in the Northeast.

Coopers Rock State Forest in West Virginia is the perfect place to watch the sunset.

West Virginia is another one of my favorite states for outdoor recreation. Its state park system is full of gems, but I always recommend visiting Coopers Rock State Forest.

I love hiking in this park or simply enjoying a sunset at Coopers Rock Overlook, which offers a panoramic view of the Cheat River Gorge.

The park also has many unique rock formations scattered throughout the forest along the miles of scenic trails.

Matthiessen State Park in Illinois feels magical.

Matthiessen State Park is a hidden gem known for its dramatic canyons, cascading waterfalls, and towering forests, creating a stunning, almost magical landscape.

With peaceful trails and fewer crowds than nearby Starved Rock State Park, Matthiessen is a must-visit for nature lovers in the Midwest. I especially love visiting in the fall to enjoy the changing foliage.

Visiting Utah's Kodachrome Basin State Park feels like stepping into another world.

When visiting Utah, many travelers aim to see one (or all) of the state's "Mighty Five" national parks. However, Utah is also home to 46 state parks — my favorite being Kodachrome Basin.

Just over 20 miles from Bryce Canyon National Park, Kodachrome Basin feels like stepping into another world entirely.

The less-crowded landscape is a stunning mix of red, orange, and yellow hues, and striking "sand pipes" — tall, thin spires of rock that the park is known for.

Hike, camp, or drive through the rock formations of this hidden gem park for a peaceful adventure.

Eldorado Canyon is one of my favorite state parks in Colorado.

With four major national parks and over 40 state parks, Colorado is known for outdoor recreation. However, I've found that, outside of the locals, many people don't know about one of my favorite places to visit — Eldorado Canyon State Park.

Just 9 miles outside Boulder, the park is known for its dramatic canyon views, rock climbing, and scenic hiking trails. Its towering golden sandstone cliffs make it one of the top climbing destinations in the US, with over 500 routes.

Visitors can also choose to cross-country ski or snowshoe in the winter months.

Here’s what actually happened to that Wisconsin judge.

Setting aside the spin – and there’s plenty of it from some Democrats and pundits – these are the facts.

Based on the criminal complaint, county judge Hannah Dugan had a hearing scheduled for illegal Mexican immigrant Eduardo Flores-Ruiz – who is already facing charges of domestic abuse.

Not only that, Flores-Ruiz got into a fight with two roommates who complained that he was playing his music too loud.

Flores-Ruiz punched one roommate in the face 30 times, then hit a woman who tried to end the fight, the complaint says. Let that sink in for a minute.

WISCONSIN JUDGE’S ARREST BLASTED BY DEMOCRATS WHO PREVIOUSLY CLAIMED ‘NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW’ IN TRUMP CASES

Now let’s get to what Hannah Dugan did. (National Review’s Jim Geraghty has a highly detailed account with extensive quotes from the documents.)

First she blew off the hearing. ICE agents have the absolute power to arrest the immigrant at the county courthouse, and were closing in, but hoped to do it in a low-key manner. 

Then she arranged for Flores-Ruiz to slip out a private exit, for the sole purpose of helping him avoid the federal agents. And it worked. But the agents tracked him down after a chase.

This sounds very much like alleged obstruction of justice.

Now Dugan is entitled to the presumption of innocence, along with a healthy skepticism. We’ve only heard the government’s side of the story.  

Does that sound like obstruction of justice? That’s what the judge has been charged with, along with concealing an individual to prevent an arrest.

The Washington Post yesterday made explicit what it implied a day earlier: "While many Republican supporters of the president cheered the aggressive actions, critics of the administration said the spectacle sent a chilling message.

"‘The obvious purpose of the arrest of Judge Dugan on criminal charges is to intimidate and threaten all judges, state and local, across the country,’ said J. Michael Luttig, a conservative former U.S. appeals court judge."

Many others are treating Dugan’s arrest, unusual though it is, as an outrage.

Before the arrest of Flores-Diaz, the Milwaukee county executive said: "An attack on this safe, community-serving space undermines public trust, breeds fear among citizens and staff and disrupts the due process essential to our courts," An attack, says David Crowley. 

Some other quotes helpfully rounded up by Geraghty:

Minnesota Democratic Sen. Tina Smith posted: "If Kash Patel," the FBI director, "and Donald Trump don’t like a judge, they think they can arrest them." So this was not about alleged obstruction of justice but some kind of personal animus toward Dugan? And I doubt Trump knew anything about this.

JUDGE WHO ALLEGEDLY HELPED MIGRANT DOESN'T DESERVE 'SPECIAL TREATMENT,' WISCONSIN LAWMAKER SAYS

New York Times columnist David Brooks said on PBS: "It strikes me as maybe something illegal, but it also strikes me as something heroic." It MAY be illegal, but on what planet would the judge’s actions be deemed heroic??

And here’s one I found from Guardian columnist Moira Donegan, saying: "The Trump administration is making an example of the Milwaukee judge to intimidate critics and opponents."

SUBSCRIBE TO HOWIE'S MEDIA BUZZMETER PODCAST, A RIFF ON THE DAY'S HOTTEST STORIES

So now the tale has morphed into an anti-Trump hit job. The president does plenty of things to intimidate critics and openly talks about it. This isn’t one of them.

As for the politics, aren’t most voters going to be more concerned with keeping violent illegal migrants off our streets?

A Milwaukee judge arrested Friday for allegedly hiding a previously deported illegal immigrant in her jury room had a notice posted to her courtroom door for people who feel "unsafe" coming to the courthouse, Fox News learned Monday.

The notice posted to Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan's courtroom door was dated April 14, four days before she allegedly helped Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, an illegal immigrant, and his attorney leave the courthouse to evade ICE agents, Fox News observed.

The notice states: "ATTENTION - IF ANY ATTORNEY, WITNESS COORDINATOR, OR OTHER COURT OFFICIAL KNOWS OR BELIEVES THAT A PERSON FEELS UNSAFE COMING TO THE COURTHOUSE TO COURTROOM 615, PLEASE NOTIFY THE BRANCH 31 CLERK TO REQUEST COURT APPEARANCE VIA ZOOM."

Dugan was arrested and charged with obstruction of an official proceeding after evidence came to light that she had shielded Flores-Ruiz from ICE agents, according to a criminal complaint. She was also charged with concealing an individual to prevent discovery and arrest.

WISCONSIN JUDGE THREATENS COURTROOM BOYCOTT OVER HANNAH DUGAN ARREST

Federal agents from ICE, FBI, CBP and DEA attempted to arrest Flores-Ruiz, an undocumented Mexican national, following his scheduled criminal court appearance before Dugan on April 18 to face three misdemeanor battery charges for allegedly beating two people.

WISCONSIN JUDGE'S ARREST BLASTED BY DEMOCRATS WHO PREVIOUSLY CLAIMED ‘NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW’ IN TRUMP CASES

Dugan demanded that the officers proceed to the chief judge’s office and – after his hearing ended – escorted Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out a restricted jury door, bypassing the public area where agents were waiting, in order to help him avoid arrest, per the complaint. 

Dugan was taken into custody by the FBI on Friday morning on the courthouse grounds, according to U.S. Marshals Service spokesperson Brady McCarron. She appeared briefly in federal court in Milwaukee later Friday before being released from custody. 

Dugan is not overseeing any cases and a reserve judge is taking over her cases while her own case plays out.

Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A Wisconsin judge is threatening not to hold court in protest of federal authorities arresting her fellow judge Hannah Dugan last week.

Judge Monica Isham made the announcement in an email to judges across the state on Saturday. Her email, titled "Guidance Requested or I Refuse to Hold Court," made clear she had no intention of working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

"If there is no guidance for us and no support for us, I will refuse to hold court in Branch 2 in Sawyer County. I will not put myself or my staff who may feel compelled to help me or my community in harms way," Isham wrote, according to a copy of the email obtained by Wisconsin Right Now.

"I have no intention of allowing anyone to be taken out of my courtroom by ICE and sent to a concentration camp, especially without due process, as BOTH of the constitutions we swore to support require. Should I start raising bail money?" Isham wrote, referring to the Wisconsin state constitution as well.

NEW MEXICO SUPREME COURT BANS JUDGE AFTER ALLEGED TDA MEMBER ARRESTED AT HOME

"If this costs me my job or gets me arrested then at least I know I did the right thing," she added.

Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon reacted to Isham's ultimatum on social media, saying the threat was "problematic."

NEW MEXICO JUDGE RESIGNS AFTER ALLEGED TDA MEMBER ARRESTED AT HIS HOME

Dugan was arrested and charged with obstruction of an official proceeding on Friday after evidence came to light that she had shielded the migrant from ICE agents, according to a criminal complaint. She was also charged with concealing an individual to prevent discovery and arrest.

Federal agents from ICE, FBI, CBP and DEA attempted to arrest the undocumented male – Mexican national Eduardo Flores-Ruiz – following his scheduled criminal court appearance before Dugan on April 18 to face three misdemeanor battery charges for allegedly beating two people.

Dugan demanded that the officers proceed to the chief judge’s office and – after his hearing ended – escorted Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out a restricted jury door, bypassing the public area where agents were waiting in order to help him avoid arrest, per the complaint.

Dugan has worked with legal aid organizations and as executive director of Catholic Charities in the past. She was elected to Branch 31 of the Circuit Court in 2016 and ran unopposed in the 2022 election. She primarily oversees cases in its misdemeanor division, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Fox News' Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.

Several Democrats who have argued that "no one is above the law" in President Donald Trump’s cases are now condemning the arrest of Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan, warning it could threaten the rule of law.

"This is not normal," Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., tweeted of Dugan’s arrest by the FBI on proceeding obstruction charges for allegedly shielding an indicted Mexican migrant from ICE agents. 

"The administration's arrest of a sitting judge in Wisconsin is a drastic move that threatens the rule of law," Klobuchar added, saying it's a "grave step and undermines our system of checks and balances."

During Trump’s 2019 impeachment, Klobuchar said his first impeachment case marked a "somber day for our country."

FBI ARRESTS JUDGE, ALLEGING SHE OBSTRUCTED ARREST OF ILLEGAL ALIEN

"In America, no one is above the law, and the American people deserve to hear evidence and witness testimony during a full and fair trial in the Senate. If the president has any facts to present in his defense to the articles of impeachment, we should hear them," she said.

After the 2022 FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago, Klobuchar said, "The law is king, and the former president isn't."

Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., also condemned Dugan’s arrest, saying, "If [FBI Director] Kash Patel and Donald Trump don’t like a judge, they think they can arrest them.

"This is stunning — we must stand up to this blatant power grab. Republicans: How is this not a red line for you?"

AG PAM BONDI OUTRAGED AT WISCONSIN JUDGE ARRESTED FOR OBSTRUCTING ARREST OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT

Commenting in 2020 on her vote to remove Trump from office over abuse of power allegations, Smith said she took her constitutional oath seriously and that "to condone corrupt behavior such as this undermines the core value that we stand for as a nation -- that no one is above the law, including and most especially our president."

Smith said she pored over presentations and evidence to reach that conclusion.

Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wis., who represents Dugan’s county, lambasted the White House, saying its "willingness to weaponize federal law enforcement is shocking and this arrest has all the hallmarks of overreach."

"I will be following this case closely and facts will come out. However, I am very alarmed at the increasingly lawless actions of the Trump administration, and in particular ICE, who have been defying courts and acting with disregard for the Constitution."

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Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., commented on an apparently deleted tweet from Patel, writing on X, "Donald Trump and JD Vance are arresting judges now. Deleting the tweet won't undo the constitutional crisis you have just thrust us into."

In a 2023 interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt, Khanna said of the Trump impeachment, "You can't just say, 'OK, because someone was president or someone is a candidate, that you're above the law.' Everyone is under the law, and that allegations, the evidence needs to be pursued."

When reached for comment by Fox News Digital, Khanna said of the contrast that Trump has "waged war on the judiciary" and that there is no public evidence yet regarding Dugan, but "it is deeply concerning given the administration’s attacks on the courts."

"Even Chief Justice Roberts has rebuked Trump’s conduct toward the judiciary," Khanna added.

Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., said norms were being violated on the immigration and legal fronts for Dugan’s arrest.

In a statement obtained by Fox News Digital, Pocan laid out the differences he sees between the Dugan and Trump cases: "Judge Dugan’s arrest is outrageous and a fear tactic to our independent judiciary. Trump has always thought he was above the law, but now he’s enabling his goons to push that limit as far as it can go. His reckless deportations and flaunting of the Constitution will fail," Pocan said.

"This is stuff I expect from Third World countries," he told Axios.

In a December 2019 statement after his vote in favor of impeachment, Pocan said Trump was "never held accountable for his actions" over his 70-plus years of life.

"Today, Democrats sent a clear signal to this president and all future presidents: No one is above the law."

Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Klobuchar and Smith for comment.

• Green Bay, Wisconsin, is hosting the NFL Draft, with an expected 250,000 visitors coming to town.
• Some local Airbnb hosts expected to fetch rates four times that of a regular Packers game day.
• One host said she had to cut her Airbnb's nightly rate by over 80% from the initial price.

Airbnb host Matthew Bassuener owns a shrine to football in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

His unassuming ranch-style home — a 10-minute walk from Lambeau Field, home of the NFL's Packers — is decorated with an oversized mural of a vintage football game and memorabilia from Bassuener's own time as an Arena Football player.

When the NFL announced its annual draft would be in Green Bay, Bassuener was ecstatic. After reviewing projections from tools Airbnb hosts use to determine pricing, he listed his three-bedroom, two-bathroom Airbnb for $5,000 a night for the three-day event. A group booked it last July. For a typical Packers game, Bassuener will get around $1,200 a night.

In January, though, the group canceled, getting a full refund. Bassuener slowly slashed his rates until a new group booked at $2,250 for the whole weekend.

"It was definitely painful," Bassuener told Business Insider. "There are other hosts scrambling to get what they wanted."

On April 24, the NFL Draft kicks off in Green Bay, with an estimated 250,000 visitors descending on the city, according to ESPN. Some Airbnb hosts told Business Insider they had to adjust their initial sky-high expectations and cut nightly rates significantly to get bookings.

Hosts overall, though, are still seeing bigger-than-normal payouts. Airbnb and Vrbo hosts in Green Bay are projected to see an 846% increase in revenue compared to the same period in 2024, according to early data from short-term-rental analytics site AirDNA. Hosts told BI they just hoped their personal gains would be even bigger.

Short-term rental hosts often capitalize on major local sporting events and concerts, raising prices around the dates when more travelers are coming to town. Just ask the residents of Augusta, Georgia, who annually rent out their homes for Master's week, with some making enough during the annual golf tournament to pay for family vacations or cover their mortgage for the year.

The widespread use of online short-term rental booking platforms like Airbnb has created pop-up markets for big-dollar bookings. In 2023, the first leg of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour brought in more than $27 million for Airbnbs and Vrbos in the US, according to AirDNA.

Ahead of Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter tour, which kicks off next week, searches for Airbnbs in stops Houston and Atlanta went up by 620% and 400%, respectively, Airbnb told Axios in March.

Pinning hopes of profit to big events doesn't always pay off. Ahead of the 2023 Super Bowl in Phoenix, Arizona, some hosts were disappointed by demand and slashed prices. The city had recently experienced a surge in supply, with 21,000 Airbnbs and Vrbos opening.

Other Green Bay hosts have had to adjust their expectations

Green Bay native Nikki Engelbrecht owns two Airbnbs just outside the stadium: a five-bedroom she initially listed for $6,000 a night, and a three-bedroom she initially listed at $4,000 a night. They ended up booking at $2,500 and $650 a night, respectively.

Engelbrecht blamed the fickle nature of short-term rentals in Green Bay for the disconnect. For an off-season weekend, her rentals' rates will hover around $250 a night, but shoot up to $2,000 a night for a premier game.

"I think everybody just got really excited and thought, because it's the draft, they could charge $10,000," she told BI.

Michael Friedman, CEO Simple Life Rentals, which oversees 150 short-term units across Wisconsin, said one of its homes directly across from Lambeau Field rented at $3,200 a night for the whole draft after it was initially listed for $7,500.

Though he was disappointed, Friedman said he is still holding out hope. Because the NFL Draft is free, unlike a typical Packers game, some area fans from nearby cities like Detroit and Chicago might be keeping an eye on nightly rates to make a spontaneous trip, he added.

"I've talked to some people who said they're still waiting to see if the weather will be decent," Friedman said. "We're still hoping to get some bookings last minute."

• The Sunbelt isn't quite as hot — for movers, that is — as it once was.
• The pandemic and remote work initially drove people to the South, but that trend has slowed.
• Some Midwestern states, particularly Wisconsin and Missouri, are attracting more residents.

Midwestern small towns and suburbs are in luck.

Over the last few decades, domestic migration to the Sunbelt has slowed — and the Midwest is becoming the new place to be.

In the mid-20th century, large numbers of Americans traded chillier, pricier locales in the North — also known as the Snowbelt — for balmy winters and cheaper homes across the South and Southwest, also called the Sunbelt. When the pandemic hit, the widespread adoption of remote work spurred a new surge of Americans to move to Florida, Texas, Arizona, the Carolinas, and other states across the Sunbelt.

But the COVID-related spike in southern transplants obscures a longer-term reverse trend. Over the last few decades, moves to the Sunbelt have significantly slowed. And more recently, some Midwestern and Northeastern states have been losing fewer people than they did pre-pandemic, and a few have even gained population. Rural areas in particular have seen an uptick in movers, creating a reverse Sunbelt to Snowbelt migration trend.

Just before the pandemic, Missouri and Wisconsin were experiencing net population losses, but now they're growing, a new paper from Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies found. Illinois, Ohio, and Michigan have seen their outflows slow post-pandemic. In the Northeast, Connecticut has also seen outward migration slow.

Two economists at the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank, Sylvain Leduc, and Daniel Wilson, similarly reported last year that the warmest places in the country have seen their population growth slow while the coldest places are growing. They argue that as temperatures rise with climate change, that trend looks like it's here to stay.

"The 'pivoting' in the U.S. climate-migration correlation over the past 50 years is likely to continue, leading to a reversal of the 20th century Snow Belt to Sun Belt migration pattern," they wrote.

It's not totally clear why we're seeing this new Sunbelt-to-Snowbelt trend, but cost-of-living issues and climate change could be factors, the researchers wrote.

Housing costs have spiked in much of the Sunbelt and South, particularly over the last few years, helping slow southern migration, Riordan Frost, a research analyst at Harvard and the author of the paper, told Business Insider.

"Not only in the typically super high-cost states has affordability been an issue, but it's becoming more of an issue in the Sunbelt," Frost said.

At the same time, much of the Snowbelt, particularly more rural areas, has stayed relatively affordable. The North is also experiencing less frigid winters, while the Sunbelt grows ever steamier, making the Snowbelt increasingly attractive.

"These new migration trends should help mitigate the effects of climate change, as fewer people would be directly exposed to the negative impacts of hotter and more frequent extreme heat days," Leduc and Wilson wrote.

Zooming out, it's important to note that many Americans are staying put. Household mobility in the US has plummeted since its peak in the 1980s, falling from a rate of 18% in 1986 to 9.7% in 2019. The pandemic briefly disrupted that trend, but over the last couple of years rates of moving have continued their pre-2020 decline trajectory.

And a big part of the problem is elevated housing costs. Many can't afford to move because of elevated mortgage rates, home prices, and rents. Others fear losing the low-interest home loans they secured when interest rates fell in the early months of the pandemic.

"In general, the homeowner mobility rate has really plunged, and that's dragging down the overall mobility rate quite a bit," Frost said.

Have you moved to the Midwest — or left? Reach out to this reporter at [email protected].

Democrats are celebrating a larger-than-expected victory in a high-profile and historically expensive election in battleground Wisconsin, in the first statewide ballot box contest since President Donald Trump's return to power in January.

And while the GOP came out on top in Tuesday's other marquee contests, comfortably holding control of two vacant congressional seats in twin special elections in red state Florida, Democrats are spotlighting that their candidates overperformed in overwhelmingly Republican districts.

Democrats are portraying last week's contests as early referendums on Trump's sweeping and controversial moves during the opening months of his second tour of duty in the White House, including the massive federal government downsizing being steered by billionaire White House special advisor Elon Musk.

And Democrats argue that the results in Wisconsin and Florida are a sign of things to come in next year's midterm elections.

POLITICAL BAGGAGE? - POLLS INDICATE AMERICANS SOURING ON MUSK

"These races proved what we’ve seen over and over again this year: people are already fed up with Trump’s chaos agenda and they’re voting for a change," Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin emphasized in an email to supporters.

But Republican National Committee chair Mike Whatley, pointing to the Florida victories, countered that "the American people sent a clear message…they want elected officials who will advance President Trump’s America First agenda, and their votes can’t be bought by national Democrats."

LIBERAL-LEANING CANDIDATE WINS FIRST MAJOR STATEWIDE ELECTION OF THE YEAR

In Wisconsin, liberal-leaning Judge Susan Crawford topped conservative-leaning Judge Brad Schimel by roughly 10 percentage points, to preserve the liberal majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which is likely to rule going forward on crucial issues like congressional redistricting, voting rights, labor rights and abortion.

With a massive infusion of money from Democratic-aligned and Republican-aligned groups from outside Wisconsin, which turned the technically nonpartisan race into the most expensive judicial election in the nation's history, the contest partially transformed into a proxy battle over Trump as well as Musk, who personally inserted himself into the election.

Musk, the chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX, who has taken a buzz saw to the federal government workforce as he steers Trump's recently created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), dished out roughly $20 million in the Wisconsin race through aligned groups in support of Schimel.

And Musk, in a controversial move, handed out $1 million checks at a rally in Green Bay last Sunday to two Wisconsin voters who had already cast ballots in the contest and had signed a petition to stop "activist judges."

DEMOCRAT CONGRESSMAN LASHES MUSK IN OPENING SALVO OF SENATE BID

"I never could have imagined that I'd be taking on the richest man in the world, for justice in Wisconsin. And we won," Crawford said in her election night victory speech.

The results in Wisconsin will likely give the Democrats a jolt, and validate their efforts to target Musk.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the chamber, argued that Wisconsin voters "sent a decisive message to Elon Musk, Donald Trump, and DOGE by rejecting an extreme Republican for their Supreme Court: our democracy is not for sale."

And the DNC, looking ahead to next year's bigger contests in the 2026 midterm elections, called the showdown in Wisconsin a "bellwether race."

WHERE TRUMP STANDS WITH AMERICANS 10 WEEKS INTO HIS SECOND TOUR OF DUTY IN THE WHITE HOUSE

But veteran Republican strategist Matt Gorman noted that two years ago, when the conservatives lost their majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, the liberal-leaning candidate won by 11 points.

Pointing to this week's 10-point margin, with Trump in the White House, Gorman asked, "This is what Democrats are jumping up and down over?"

In Florida, the double-digit victories by the Republican candidates will give the GOP a little bit of breathing room in the House of Representatives, where the party is holding onto a very fragile majority as it aims to pass Trump's agenda.

But the Democratic candidates in the two special congressional elections vastly outraised their Republican counterparts – a sign that the party's base is angry and energized – which forced GOP-aligned outside groups to pour money and resources into the races during the final stretch. And the Democratic candidates ended up losing by 15 and 14 points in districts that Trump carried by 37 and 30 points in last November's presidential election.

REPUBLICANS HOLD CONTROL OF TWO VACANT CONGRESSIONAL SEATS IN THIS RED STATE

Democrats quickly spotlighted how the party "overperformed" in Florida. And the House Majority PAC, the top super PAC supporting House Democrats, touted that the results showed "that the political headwinds are firmly at our backs heading into 2026."

But Mike Marinella, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, argued that "Democrats just lit over $20,000,000 on fire in a doomed-to-fail effort to make two deep-red Florida districts competitive – and got blown out of the water in the most embarrassing way."

WHERE TRUMP STANDS WITH AMERICANS 10 WEEKS INTO HIS SECOND TOUR OF DUTY IN THE WHITE HOUSE

The elections in Wisconsin and Florida were held on the eve of Trump's blockbuster tariff announcement, sparking a trade war with the nation's top trading partners and triggering a massive sell-off in the financial markets. The latest move by the president could also set the stage for an even bigger ballot box backlash next year.

But Democrats have a serious brand issue right now.

The party's favorable rating sank to all-time lows in separate national polls conducted last month by CNN and NBC News. Those numbers followed a record low for Democrats in a Quinnipiac University survey in the field in February. 

Additionally, the latest Fox News National poll indicated that congressional Democrats' approval rating is at 30%, near an all-time low. And Democratic activists are irate over their party's inability to blunt Trump's agenda.

And when it comes to normally low-turnout off-year elections and special elections, the party in power – which in the nation's capital is clearly the Republicans – often faces political headwinds.

"We'll get up to fight another day. But this wasn't our day," Schimel said in his concession speech.

And Wisconsin GOP chair Brian Schimming noted that "coming off a successful November, we knew the April elections would be challenging."

DNC chair Martin is touting that "Democrats have won or over-performed in nearly every special election race this year, including this week’s."

But Republicans note that Democrats enjoyed a slew of special election victories in 2023 and 2024 before suffering serious setbacks in last November's elections.

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"Special elections are special for a reason, and not always useful canaries in the coal mines for what lies ahead," veteran Republican strategist Colin Reed told Fox News Digital. "While they can be used as a barometer for energy, they are also a reflection of the individual candidates whose names are on the ballots."

And Gorman emphasized that special elections "are not predictive."

Reed argued that "the bigger challenge for the Democrats looking ahead is the lack of a vision or governing agenda beyond reflexive and blanket opposition to the White House and their continued positioning way outside the mainstream on a slew of commonsense issues." 

There's no denying that billionaire Elon Musk has been the most visible member of President Donald Trump's administration during Trump's first ten weeks back in the White House. But with familiarity can come contempt, as recent polling shows the DOGE point man underwater with approval ratings.

Musk, the world's richest person and the chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX, has grabbed outsized attention as he's steered DOGE, the acronym for Trump's recently created Department of Government Efficiency, which has swept through federal agencies, rooting out what the White House argues was billions in wasteful federal spending.

The unit has also taken a meat cleaver to the federal workforce, resulting in a massive exodus of employees. The controversial moves by Musk and DOGE have triggered a slew of lawsuits in response.

But it's becoming increasingly clear that a majority of Americans are far from happy with Musk's moves. And two new national public opinion polls released this week offer further proof.

MUSK NOT LEAVING YET, WRAPPING UP WORK ON SCHEDULE ONCE 'INCREDIBLE WORK AT DOGE IS COMPLETE': WHITE HOUSE

According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted March 31-April 2, Musk's favorable rating stands at 39% among Americans, with 57% viewing him in an unfavorable light.

And only 36% of respondents said the Trump administration was doing a competent job in reducing the number of federal employees. Even fewer — 31% — offered that the Trump administration was competently downsizing the federal government without affecting vital services.

According to a Marquette Law School national survey, 41% approve of the job Musk is doing at DOGE, with 58% giving him a thumbs down.

And Musk's favorable rating was in negative territory — at the 38% to 60% — in the poll, which was conducted March 17 through 24.

AMERICANS WANT SMALLER GOVERNMENT BUT NEW POLLS SHOWS WHETHER THEY LIKE HOW MUSK IS GOING ABOUT IT

The two surveys are the latest to indicate Musk's poll numbers deeply underwater.

A majority — 54% — questioned in a Quinnipiac University survey conducted early last month said that Musk and DOGE are hurting the country, with just four in ten saying their efforts are helping the country.

And according to a Fox News national poll conducted in mid-March, Musk's approval of his work at DOGE was in negative territory, at 40% approval and 58% disapproval.

While nearly six in 10 questioned in the Fox News poll felt that a great deal or almost all of government spending is wasteful and inefficient, 51% opposed substantially shrinking the number of government employees, 56% disapproved of the job the Trump administration is doing identifying and reducing wasteful spending, and another 65% worried that not enough thought and planning has gone into the cuts.

While Trump continues to praise Musk's efforts with DOGE, some Republicans are starting to voice concerns about Musk's political liabilities.

Democrats have increasingly spotlighted and targeted Musk in their political attacks. And that was before he inserted himself front-and-center in this week's high-profile and historically expensive state supreme court election in Wisconsin.

ELON MUSK HANDS OUT MILLION-DOLLAR CHECKS AMID 'SUPER IMPORTANT' WISCONSIN JUDICIAL RACE

With a massive infusion of money from Democrat- and Republican-aligned groups from outside Wisconsin, which turned the race into the most expensive judicial election in the nation's history, the contest partially transformed into a referendum on Trump's sweeping and controversial moves during the opening months of his second tour of duty in the White House, and on Musk's efforts.

Dane County Circuit Court Judge Susan Crawford, the liberal-leaning candidate, ended up defeating Brad Schimel, the conservative-leaning Trump-backed candidate, a former state attorney general who currently serves as a state circuit court judge in Waukesha County, by roughly ten points.

The large margin was not expected, in a race that was expected to be close, in a state that last November had an extremely tight margin in the presidential race.

Musk, who last year was Trump's top donor, dished out roughly $20 million in the Wisconsin race through aligned groups in support of Schimel.

DONALD TRUMP, FACING TERRIBLE COVERAGE, SOFTENS TONE AND TACTICS FOR ELON MUSK’S DOGE CRUSADE

In a controversial move, Musk handed out $1 million checks at a rally in Green Bay on Sunday evening to two Wisconsin voters who had already cast ballots in the contest and had signed a petition to stop "activist judges."

Musk's lighting rod efforts in Wisconsin are being blamed for partially contributing to the 10-point shellacking Schimel suffered.

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The White House confirmed to Fox News on Wednesday that Musk will exit his role with DOGE on schedule later this spring, once his efforts are complete.

The White House, pushing back against reporting by Politico that Trump had told his inner circle and cabinet members that Musk would be "stepping back in the coming weeks from his current role," said that Musk had long been anticipated to step back from DOGE when his 130 days as a "special government employee" run out in May. 

• Elon Musk waded into a Wisconsin Supreme Court race — and lost.
• Now, Democrats want Musk to keep hitting the stump.
• Musk has quickly become a key foil for Democrats. The Wisconsin election vindicated that approach.

After handily winning a Wisconsin Supreme Court race on Tuesday, Democrats are sending a message to Elon Musk: Keep campaigning for the GOP.

Ben Wikler, the chair of the Wisconsin Democratic Party, told reporters on a Wednesday press call that Musk should become President Donald Trump's "special envoy for midterm elections."

"At the same time, Elon Musk should be removed as quickly as possible from any position of power over the federal government," Wikler added, referring to the billionaire businessman's role as the de facto leader of DOGE.

Musk had poured millions of dollars into the race, arguing that the future of Western civilization was at stake. It was the first statewide election since Trump's 2024 victory and was seen as a barometer for the national mood. He even hit the campaign trail in person, holding a town hall event in Green Bay on Sunday night.

"Elon Musk's money might buy some ads, but it repels voters," Wikler said. Polling has broadly shown that Musk is less popular than Trump.

Ken Martin, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, also mentioned Musk on the call.

"The more Elon Musk wants to get out there, I say go for it Elon," Martin said. "There are plenty of other states we would love you to campaign in."

The Wisconsin race — along with closer-than-expected special election results in two deep-red House districts in Florida — has emboldened Democrats when it comes to the House of Representatives, where Republicans currently hold an extremely narrow lead. In 2024, Musk spent more than $19 million supporting various Democratic candidates.

Katarina Flicker, a spokeswoman for House Majority PAC, said in a statement that the Democratic-aligned group "encourages one of the most unpopular men in America to campaign with Republicans across the country."

"His efforts will be crucial to Democrats taking back the House in 2026," Flicker said of Musk.

A spokesman for Musk's super PAC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Republicans in Wisconsin's congressional delegation closely watched the heated race for a new jurist on the state's Supreme Court. 

The match-up between former Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel and circuit court judge Susan Crawford drew national attention, with billionaires on both sides of the aisle pouring millions into the race – despite the lack of political affiliation for both candidates.

Crawford ultimately won, but Republicans did score a victory in a referendum on enshrining voter ID laws in the state constitution – something the right has long advocated for.

"There's a lot at stake," Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis., told Fox News Digital on Tuesday before polls closed.

DOGE DEPUTY, TREASURY SECRETARY DISH ON CRUSADE TO PULL THE IRS OUT OF ITS ‘REALLY BIG HOLE’

One example he pointed to is a Wisconsin state law that's fiercely opposed by labor unions there, which ended most collective bargaining rights for government employees when passed in 2011. Fitzgerald helped usher it through as state Senate majority leader at the time.

"They clearly have their sights set on that," Fitzgerald said. "I think they're going to try and come up with some crazy dreamed-up angle on redistricting, and look for a suit that they can weigh in on to try and change the maps before the next election."

Republicans who backed Schimel included Elon Musk and President Donald Trump, while Crawford was supported by prominent liberals like George Soros and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker. 

Musk has been heckled by Democrats for his last-minute rally in Wisconsin for the race – where he also offered $1 million each to two attendees.

Pritzker raised particular ire among Republicans, who view him as an out-of-state progressive trying to impose his beliefs on a neighboring state.

"We don't want him determining Wisconsin," Rep. Glenn Grothman, R-Wis., told Fox News Digital before polls closed.

"Wisconsin right now has photo ID to make sure our elections are fair. We have a woman running for that position who is the type of person to say that's racist, and we cannot have that type of extremism on the Supreme Court," Grothman continued.

Wisconsin voters opted to enshrine voter ID measures into state law, however.

Crawford has made no public statements about her beliefs on the issues cited by Grothman as a judge. She did, however, represent groups fighting for abortion rights and against voter ID laws as an attorney, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., chairman of the House Committee on Administration, told Fox News Digital of the race before polls closed, "In Wisconsin, we are focused on safeguarding school choice, upholding parental rights, and preserving voter ID."

ELON MUSK, DOGE TEAM OFFER UNPRECEDENTED PEEK BEHIND THE CURTAIN OF TRUMP'S COST-CUTTING DEPARTMENT

"That's why it's crucial that everyone gets out to vote for Brad Schimel," Steil said ahead of the vote.

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Fox News Digital reached out to the two Democrats in the state congressional delegation, Reps. Gwen Moore, D-Wis., and Mark Pocan, D-Wis., but did not hear back by press time.

MILWAUKEE, Wis. — Democrats are celebrating a larger-than-expected victory in a high-profile and historically expensive election in battleground Wisconsin, in the first statewide ballot box contest since President Donald Trump's return to power in January.

Liberal-leaning Judge Susan Crawford topped conservative-leaning Judge Brad Schimel by roughly 10 percentage points – with some votes still being tabulated – to preserve the liberal majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which is likely to rule going forward on crucial issues like congressional redistricting, voting rights, labor rights and abortion.

With a massive infusion of money from Democratic-aligned and Republican-aligned groups from outside Wisconsin, which turned the race into the most expensive judicial election in the nation's history, the contest partially transformed into a referendum on Trump's sweeping and controversial moves during the opening months of his second tour of duty in the White House.

Also front and center in the technically nonpartisan showdown was someone who, along with Trump, was not on the ballot: billionaire Elon Musk, the president's top donor and White House advisor, who inserted himself into the race.

LIBERAL-LEANING CANDIDATE WINS FIRST MAJOR STATEWIDE ELECTION OF THE YEAR

"The people of Wisconsin squarely rejected the influence of Elon Musk, Donald Trump, and billionaire special interests," Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin claimed.

And the DNC, looking ahead to next year's bigger contests in the 2026 midterm elections, called the showdown in Wisconsin a "bellwether race."

But Republicans came out on top in Tuesday's other marquee contests, holding control of two vacant congressional seats in twin special elections in red state Florida. The double-digit victories by the Republican candidates will give the GOP a little bit of breathing room in the House of Representatives, where the party is holding onto a very fragile majority as it aims to pass Trump's agenda.

REPUBLICANS HOLD CONTROL OF TWO VACANT CONGRESSIONAL SEATS IN THIS RED STATE

"The American people sent a clear message tonight: they want elected officials who will advance President Trump’s America First agenda, and their votes can’t be bought by national Democrats," Republican National Committee chair Mike Whatley argued.

The Democratic candidates in the two special congressional elections vastly outraised their Republican counterparts – a sign that the party's base is angry and energized – which forced GOP-aligned outside groups to pour money and resources into the races during the final stretch. And the Democratic candidates ended up losing by 15 and 14 points in districts that Trump carried by 37 and 30 points in last November's presidential election.

Democrats quickly spotlighted how the party "overperformed" in Florida. And the House Majority PAC, the top super PAC supporting House Democrats, touted that the results showed "that the political headwinds are firmly at our backs heading into 2026."

But Mike Marinella, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, argued that "Democrats just lit over $20,000,000 on fire in a doomed-to-fail effort to make two deep-red Florida districts competitive – and got blown out of the water in the most embarrassing way."

But the results in Florida, and especially Wisconsin, will likely give the Democrats a jolt, and validate their efforts to target Musk.

Musk, the chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX, who has taken a buzz saw to the federal government workforce as he steers Trump's recently created Department of Government Efficiency, dished out roughly $20 million in the Wisconsin race through aligned groups in support of Schimel.

And Musk, in a controversial move, handed out $1 million checks at a rally in Green Bay on Sunday evening to two Wisconsin voters who had already cast ballots in the contest and had signed a petition to stop "activist judges."

"I never could have imagined that I'd be taking on the richest man in the world, for justice in Wisconsin. And we won," Crawford said in her election night victory speech.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the chamber, argued that Wisconsin voters "sent a decisive message to Elon Musk, Donald Trump, and DOGE by rejecting an extreme Republican for their Supreme Court: our democracy is not for sale."

"Anyone who counted Democrats out was dead wrong," he emphasized.

But Democrats have a serious brand issue right now.

The party's favorable rating sank to all-time lows in separate national polls conducted last month by CNN and NBC News. Those numbers followed a record low for Democrats in a Quinnipiac University survey in the field in February. 

Additionally, the latest Fox News National poll indicated that congressional Democrats' approval rating is at 30%, near an all-time low. And Democratic activists are irate over their party's inability to blunt Trump's agenda.

And when it comes to normally low-turnout off-year elections and special elections, the party in power – which in the nation's capital is clearly the Republicans – often faces political headwinds.

"We'll get up to fight another day. But this wasn't our day," Schimel said in his concession speech.

And Wisconsin GOP chair Brian Schimming noted that "coming off a successful November, we knew the April elections would be challenging."

Republicans note that Democrats enjoyed a slew of special election victories in 2023 and 2024 before suffering serious setbacks in last November's elections.

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"Special elections are special for a reason, and not always useful canaries in the coal mines for what lies ahead," veteran Republican strategist Colin Reed told Fox News Digital. "While they can be used as a barometer for energy, they are also a reflection of the individual candidates whose names are on the ballots."

Reed argued that "the bigger challenge for the Democrats looking ahead is the lack of a vision or governing agenda beyond reflexive and blanket opposition to the White House and their continued positioning way outside the mainstream on a slew of commonsense issues."

Democrats across the country celebrated after the liberal-leaning candidate won a high-profile election on Tuesday for a seat on Wisconsin's Supreme Court, protecting the liberal majority on the bench.

Dane County Circuit Court Judge Susan Crawford defeated conservative-leaning Brad Schimel, a former state attorney general who currently serves as a state circuit court judge in Waukesha County. Schimel was endorsed by President Donald Trump, and the president's billionaire senior advisor, Elon Musk, spent millions of dollars to oppose Crawford's candidacy.

After a massive infusion of money from Democrat-aligned and Republican-aligned groups from outside Wisconsin, which turned the race into the most expensive judicial election in the nation's history, the election partially transformed into a referendum on Trump's action during the early months of his second term in the White House.

Following Crawford's victory, Democrats said voters in Wisconsin, a battleground state, sent a clear message to reject Trump, Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency — which is led by Musk — as well as the Republican Party's agenda.

LIBERAL WINS FIRST MAJOR 2025 STATEWIDE BATTLEGROUND ELECTION IN RACE TURNED INTO TRUMP-MUSK REFERENDUM

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers wrote: "Wisconsinites proved we will not be bought — not by the richest or most powerful people in the world or anyone else."

Musk had handed out $1 million checks at a rally in Green Bay on Sunday evening to two Wisconsin voters who had already cast ballots in the contest and had signed a petition to stop "activist judges." Wisconsin's Democrat state attorney general sued to block the payments, but the state Supreme Court refused to weigh in.

"This election was about the resilience of the Wisconsin and American values that define and unite us," Wisconsin's governor said in a statement. "This election was about doing what's best for our kids, protecting constitutional checks and balances, reaffirming our faith in the courts and the judiciary, and defending against attacks on the basic rights, freedoms, and institutions we hold dear."

"For anyone who mistakenly believes actions and decisions in Washington are neither seen nor heard here in Wisconsin or states across our country, the people of Wisconsin responded tonight," he added.

Sen. Tammy Balwin, D-Wisc., said Wisconsin voters "showed tonight that their votes are not for sale!"

WISCONSIN VOTERS DECIDE TO ENSHRINE VOTER ID LAW IN STATE CONSTITUTION: 'BIG WIN FOR REPUBLICANS'

"Judge Crawford is a common sense judge who has always been guided by the same basic values she learned growing up in Chippewa Falls," Baldwin said on X. "She believes in doing the right thing, she has fought to protect our rights and freedoms, and she will be a fair and impartial Justice on the WI State Supreme Court!"

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said that "[a]nyone who counted Democrats out was dead wrong."

"Wisconsin voters tonight sent a decisive message to Elon Musk, Donald Trump, and DOGE by rejecting an extreme Republican for their Supreme Court: our Democracy is not for sale," he said in a statement. "Democrats are in the fight to keep our country."

"Elon Musk spent millions in a failed scheme to buy a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., wrote on X. "Voters decisively rejected Donald Trump, Musk and the rapidly deteriorating Republican brand. Back up off the American people."

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., wrote on X: "Congratulations to Wisconsin’s newest Supreme Court Justice, Susan Crawford! The voters spoke loud and clear: Wisconsin is not for sale."

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"Wisconsin beat the billionaire," Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said on X, referring to Musk.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Crawford's victory was an "amazing win for Wisconsin and the entire country."

Wisconsin's high court is likely to rule on crucial issues like congressional redistricting, voting and labor rights and abortion.

Fox News' Paul Steinhauser and Charles Creitz contributed to this report.

Wisconsin will enshrine the state's voter ID law in the state constitution after voters approved the proposal on Tuesday.

The Associated Press called the vote at 9:48 p.m. EST.

Wisconsin already requires that voters have photo ID in order to participate at the polls, but the measure now elevates that law to a constitutional amendment. 

VAST MAJORITY OF AMERICANS SUPPORT PHOTO ID REQUIREMENT TO VOTE, NEW POLL SAYS

President Donald Trump celebrated the law being added to the state constitution on Truth Social after the vote was called Tuesday night.

"VOTER I.D. JUST APPROVED IN WISCONSIN ELECTION. Democrats fought hard against this, presumably so they can CHEAT. This is a BIG WIN FOR REPUBLICANS, MAYBE THE BIGGEST WIN OF THE NIGHT. IT SHOULD ALLOW US TO WIN WISCONSIN, LIKE I JUST DID IN THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, FOR MANY YEARS TO COME!" the president wrote.

Nine states, including Wisconsin, require that voters present photo ID, though Wisconsin's requirements are the strictest, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. There are laws in 36 states requiring or requesting that voters show some sort of identification, the NCSL said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

• Elon Musk's super PAC poured more than $12 million into the Wisconsin Supreme Court race.
• In the end, the liberal candidate, Judge Susan Crawford, defeated Judge Brad Schimel, a conservative.
• The loss is a blow for Musk, who held a town hall in Wisconsin and urged voters to back Schimel.

For Wisconsin Republicans, regaining a conservative majority on the state's highest court was a top priority.

Elon Musk, the world's richest man, funneled more than $12 million via his America PAC to sway the pivotal judicial race in one of the country's premier swing states.

It wasn't enough.

On Tuesday, Musk's big bet on the Wisconsin Supreme Court race fell apart, with outlets including NBC News and CNN projecting that Susan Crawford, a liberal judge in Dane County, had defeated Brad Schimel, a conservative judge in Waukesha County, in the most expensive judicial race in US history.

Musk, the face of President Donald Trump's White House DOGE office, has been met with increasingly vocal opposition by voters over the task force's cost-cutting efforts. And the fallout from DOGE is also affecting Tesla, the company that catapulted Musk to international prominence.

Crawford's victory is a significant blow for Musk as DOGE's work continues to face increased scrutiny from the public and could lead to electoral gains for Democrats in the 2026 midterm elections.

Here's how Crawford's win is set to upend Musk's political playbook:

Musk is caught in the DOGE-house

For weeks, scenes of frustrated voters sharply questioning and booing GOP members of Congress have become a defining narrative of DOGE, as many lawmakers have had to defend waves of staffing cuts.

As a guiding force behind efforts to cut costs at critical federal departments — along with efforts to eliminate the US Agency for International Development — Musk has faced mounting pushback over the task force's aggressive tactics to rein in spending.

Musk went all in for Schimel, arguing that the Wisconsin race was "important for the future of civilization."

Referring to the potential for Democrats to make gains through a new congressional map, Musk argued that if the Wisconsin Supreme Court "is able to redraw the districts, they will gerrymander the district and deprive Wisconsin of two seats on the Republican side."

"Then they will try to stop all the government reforms we are getting done for you, the American people," he added.

In a state that narrowly backed Trump over Kamala Harris in November, voters this week made a new choice.

Crawford's win keeps the liberal bloc in the majority. The court could revisit the state's congressional maps, with a redraw likely to offer Democrats an opportunity to pick up additional seats.

With Republicans clinging to a razor-thin 218-213 majority in the US House ahead of what could be a tough midterm cycle, holding the lower chamber will be key for Musk and Trump — especially as it relates to future oversight over DOGE's work.

Musk may approach other races differently

Musk campaigned heavily for Trump in Pennsylvania in last year's election, with America PAC pouring millions of dollars into the state, much of it for canvassing and other digital-related efforts.

The tech mogul's decision to hand out $1 million checks to select voters who signed petitions at town hall events — similar to what he employed in Wisconsin this time around — drew many people out as he criticized Harris and the media. Trump would go on to win Pennsylvania in the 2024 general election.

Schimel's loss, on the other hand, is a setback for Musk.

Wisconsin Supreme Court races in recent years have become increasingly polarized, with issues like abortion rights, union collective bargaining rights, and voting regulations being used to drive up turnout among base voters. This week, conservatives fell short in their efforts to take the court in a different direction.

Musk is poised to wade into other contests ahead of the midterms, especially with Trump's agenda on the line. But the latest results in Wisconsin show that there's a limit to such an influence.

WAUKESHA, Wis. — The liberal-leaning candidate is projected to win a high-profile and historically expensive election in Wisconsin on Tuesday, protecting progressive majority control of the battleground state's Supreme Court, which is likely to rule on crucial issues like congressional redistricting, voting and labor rights, and abortion.

The Associated Press projects that Dane County Circuit Court Judge Susan Crawford will defeat Brad Schimel, a former state attorney general who currently serves as a state circuit court judge in Waukesha County. Schimel, the conservative-aligned candidate in the race, was endorsed by President Donald Trump.

With a massive infusion of money from Democrat-aligned and Republican-aligned groups from outside Wisconsin, which turned the race into the most expensive judicial election in the nation's history, the contest partially transformed into a referendum on Trump's sweeping and controversial moves during the opening months of his second tour of duty in the White House.

Also front and center in the electoral showdown was someone who, along with Trump, was not on the ballot: billionaire Elon Musk, the president's top donor and White House adviser.

THE OTHER MAJOR ELECTIONS TODAY - IN THIS RED STATE - ARE ALSO A REFERENDUM ON TRUMP

Musk, the world's richest person and chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX, who has taken a buzz saw to the federal government workforce as he steers Trump's recently created Department of Government Efficiency, dished out roughly $20 million in the Wisconsin race through aligned groups in support of Schimel.

And Musk, in a controversial move, handed out $1 million checks at a rally in Green Bay on Sunday evening to two Wisconsin voters who had already cast ballots in the contest and had signed a petition to stop "activist judges."

Wisconsin's Democrat state attorney general sued to block the payments, but the state Supreme Court refused to weigh in.

WHY ELON MUSK HANDED OUT MILLION DOLLAR CHECKS IN WISCONSIN 

Calling the election a "super big deal," Musk said it was critical to the Trump agenda.

"I think this will be important for the future of civilization," he said. "It’s that significant."

Musk wasn't the only mega-donor on the right playing in the Wisconsin showdown.

Shipping magnates Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein, who are among the biggest conservative contributors in the nation, also provided millions in support of Schimel and the Wisconsin GOP.

"If you told me six months ago this was what was going to happen, I would not have believed it. But yeah … some parts of this are way beyond my control anymore," Schimel said in a Fox News Digital interview during a bus tour stop Monday just outside Green Bay.

Schimel, who launched his bid 16 months ago, added that "other people can treat this how they want. If they think they want to make it a referendum on the president or Elon Musk, so be it."

"This is a referendum on Wisconsin," he said. "Can we restore objectivity to the Wisconsin Supreme Court?"

BIG-MONEY WI HIGH COURT RACE WILL HAVE NATIONAL EFFECTS, AS REDISTRICTING, UNIONS, TRANS ISSUES AT STAKE

Schimel also leaned in to the endorsement from Trump. A TV ad running in the closing stretch of the race spotlighted that voting for Schimel would protect Trump's agenda. The candidate also wore a "Make America Great Again" hat at some campaign stops during the final weekend ahead of the election.

Schimel spotlighted his final blitz to reach out to voters.

"We are doing six to eight rallies every single day in cities across the state," he said. "People are turning out in huge numbers, and we’ve got other surrogates going out around the state where we’re not, doing the exact same thing. It’s absolutely about getting those voters out."

And Schimel also got a boost from the conservative powerhouse organization Americans for Prosperity. The group said its grassroots army has connected with nearly 600,000 voters in Wisconsin since last November's election.

Trump, who narrowly carried Wisconsin in both of his White House victories, said the state is important because its Supreme Court can settle disputes over election outcomes.

"Wisconsin’s a big state politically, and the Supreme Court has a lot to do with elections in Wisconsin," the president said Monday at the White House. "Winning Wisconsin’s a big deal, so, therefore, the Supreme Court choice … it’s a big race." 

Schimel's camp and other conservatives repeatedly argued that a continuation of the liberal majority on Wisconsin's high court could lead to unfavorable congressional redistricting in the state, which could spell doom for two Republican lawmakers: Reps. Derrick Van Orden and Bryan Steil, chair of the House Administration Committee.

TRUMP, OBAMA, WEIGH IN ON HIGH COURT SHOWDOWN IN KEY BATTLEGROUND

Asked about the conservatives shining a spotlight on potential congressional redistricting, Crawford told reporters on Monday that "it's just not appropriate for me as a judge to express a view on that, especially on an issue that someday could come before the Wisconsin Supreme Court again. That's why I don't speak to the issue."

Tuesday's election was the first statewide contest held since Trump returned to the White House, and it was an opportunity for plenty of voters to vent against the president and his policies.

Crawford enjoyed a surge in fundraising, thanks in part to an energized base eager to resist Trump and Republicans.

"People are really motivated and want to make sure that we protect the Wisconsin Supreme Court," Crawford said in a Fox News Digital interview after a rally in Madison on the eve of the election.

BATTLEGROUND STATE SHOWDOWN: DEMOCRATS TARGET ELON MUSK

Crawford argued that voters "don’t want to see some outsider, some billionaire, come in and try to buy a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which is what Elon Musk is trying to do."

At her rally, Crawford said "this election is going to determine all of our fundamental rights and freedoms."

But Crawford also benefited from outside money, with roughly $2 million infused into the race by left-leaning financier George Soros, long a boogeyman of the right. Billionaire progressive Gov. JB Pritzker of neighboring Illinois has also spent big bucks in the race to support Crawford.

"I have gotten some generous contributions, and we’ve raised a lot of money in this race," she told Fox News. "But just to put that in perspective, in the last two months, Elon Musk has spent more than we have raised over the 10 months of this entire campaign, so his spending dwarfs that of any individual in any state supreme court ever and certainly one in Wisconsin."

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Crawford and Schimel were battling to succeed liberal-leaning justice Ann Walsh Bradley, who has served on Wisconsin's highest court for nearly three decades. Liberal-aligned justices held a 4-3 majority on the state Supreme Court heading into Tuesday's election.

The showdown drew some top surrogates to Wisconsin, including progressive champion Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and MAGA star Donald Trump Jr., the president's eldest son.

The City of Milwaukee is running out of ballots due to "historic turnout" on Tuesday night, as Badger State residents stand in in line at polling places to decide whether the Wisconsin Supreme Court will lean conservative or liberal.

FOX 6 Milwaukee reporter Jason Calvi reported the developments on Tuesday night. At least seven polling sites have run out of ballots, per the Milwaukee Elections Commission. 

The sites are expecting more ballots soon, though the polls closed at 8 p.m. Milwaukee officials also noted that Wisconsin residents in line by 8 p.m. are still eligible to vote.

"We have dozens of field staff working to get resources to polling locations during rush hour," an official said, according to Calvi.

TRUMP ANNOUNCES PLAN TO CHOP DOWN MAGNOLIA TREE PURPORTEDLY PLANTED BY ANDREW JACKSON: 'MUST COME TO AN END'

The Wisconsin Supreme Court currently has a 4-3 liberal majority. 

The court race has attracted attention across the country, as both Democrat and Republican-aligned groups from outside Wisconsin have dedicated money and resources to swaying the race. It's been interpreted as a referendum on President Donald Trump's second administration so far. 

Notably, Tesla CEO Elon Musk hosted an America PAC town hall in Green Bay on Sunday night, where he handed two $1 million dollar checks to two voters who signed a petition against "activist judges."

TRUMP ADMIN REVIEWING BILLIONS IN GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS, GRANTS FOR HARVARD AMID ANTISEMITISM ALLEGATIONS

Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul unsuccessfully asked for an emergency injunction to stop Musk from handing out the checks, but the state's highest court declined to hear Kaul's arguments. 

"The reason for the checks is that, it's really just to get attention," Musk said while holding a gigantic check. "It's like, we need to get attention… somewhat inevitably, when I do this… it causes the legacy media to, like, kind of lose their minds."

Musk's attorneys maintained that the payments are "intended to generate a grassroots movement in opposition to activist judges, not to expressly advocate for or against any candidate."

Fox News Digital's Sophia Compton and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.