MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Majority control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court will be decided Tuesday in a race that broke records for spending and has become a proxy battle for the nation’s political fights, pitting a candidate backed by President Donald Trump against a Democratic-aligned challenger.

Republicans including Trump and the world’s wealthiest person, Elon Musk, lined up behind Brad Schimel, a former state attorney general. Democrats like former President Barack Obama and billionaire megadonor George Soros backed Susan Crawford, a Dane County judge who led legal fights to protect union power and abortion rights and to oppose voter ID.

The first major election in the country since November is seen as a litmus test of how voters feel about Trump’s first months back in office and the role played by Musk, whose Department of Government Efficiency has torn through federal agencies and laid off thousands of workers. Musk traveled to Wisconsin on Sunday to make a pitch for Schimel and personally hand out $1 million checks to two voters.

On Monday, Trump hinted as to why the outcome of the race was important. The court can decide election-related laws and settle disputes over future election outcomes.

“Wisconsin’s a big state politically, and the Supreme Court has a lot to do with elections in Wisconsin,” he told reporters in the Oval Office. “Winning Wisconsin’s a big deal, so therefore the Supreme Court choice … it’s a big race.”

Crawford embraced the backing of Planned Parenthood and other abortion rights advocates, running ads that highlighted Schimel’s opposition to the procedure. She also attacked Schimel for his ties to Trump and Musk, referring to “Elon Schimel” during a debate.

Schimel’s campaign tried to portray Crawford as weak on crime and a puppet of Democrats who, if elected, would push to redraw congressional district boundary lines to hurt Republicans and repeal a GOP-backed state law that took collective bargaining rights away from most public workers.

The winner of the court’s open seat will determine whether it remains under 4-3 liberal control, as it has been since 2023, or reverts to a conservative majority, as it was the 15 years beforehand.

The court will likely be deciding cases on abortion, public sector unions, voting rules and congressional district boundaries. Who controls it also could factor into how it might rule on any future voting challenge in the perennial presidential battleground state — raising the stakes for national Republicans and Democrats.

Groups funded by Musk led all outside spending in the race, pouring more than $21 million into the contest. Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, campaigned for Schimel in the closing weeks and said electing him was essential to protecting the Republican agenda. And Trump endorsed Schimel 11 days before the election.

Schimel leaned into his support from Trump in the campaign’s waning days while insisting he would not be beholden to the president or Musk despite the massive spending on the race by groups that Musk supports.

Democrats have made that spending central to their messaging.

“Ultimately, I think it’s going to help Susan Crawford, because people do not want to see Elon Musk buying election after election after election,” Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler said Monday. “If it works here, he’s going to do it all over the country.”

Crawford benefited from campaign stops by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the vice presidential nominee last year, and money from billionaire megadonors including Soros and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.

The contest was the most expensive court race on record in the U.S., with spending exceeding $90 million, according to a tally by the Brennan Center for Justice. That broke the previous record of $51 million record, for the state’s Supreme Court race in 2023.

Wisconsin has a long history of razor-thin presidential votes, but in the last court race two years ago, the liberal candidate won by 11 points. Both sides said they expected a much narrower finish this year.

The winner will be elected to a 10-year term replacing retiring Justice Ann Walsh Bradley.

If Crawford wins, the court stands to remain under liberal control until at least 2028, the next time a liberal justice is on the ballot. If Schimel wins, the majority will once again be on the line next year.

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Reporter Thomas Beaumont contributed from Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Scott Bauer, The Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin’s top education official, who will guide policies affecting K-12 schools during President Donald Trump’s second term, will be elected Tuesday in a race between the teachers union-backed incumbent and a Republican-supported critic.

The electorate will also decide whether to enshrine a voter ID law in the state constitution.

Both contests have sharp partisan divisions, though they have drawn far less spending and national attention than the race for control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Here’s a look at the two contests:

Incumbent education leader backed by unions, Democrats faces GOP choice

The race to lead the state Department of Public Instruction pits incumbent Jill Underly, who is backed by Democrats and the teachers union, against consultant Brittany Kinser, a supporter of the private school voucher program who is endorsed by Republicans but calls herself a moderate.

Wisconsin is the only state where voters elect the top education official but there is no state board of education. That gives the superintendent broad authority to oversee education policy, from dispersing school funding to managing teacher licensing.

The winner will take office at a time when test scores are still recovering from the pandemic, the achievement gap between white and Black students remains the worst in the country and more schools are asking voters to raise property taxes to pay for operations.

Underly’s education career began in 1999 as a high school social studies teacher in Indiana. She moved to Wisconsin in 2005 and worked for five years at the state education department. She also was principal of Pecatonica Elementary School for a year before becoming district administrator.

Underly, 47, was elected state superintendent in 2021 and was endorsed by the union, the Wisconsin Education Association Council, as well as the Wisconsin Democratic Party and numerous Democratic officeholders.

Kinser, whose backers include the Wisconsin Republican Party and former Republican Govs. Tommy Thompson and Scott Walker, is vying to become the first GOP-affiliated person to hold the superintendent position in more than 30 years.

She worked for almost 10 years as a special education teacher and instructional coach in Chicago Public Schools. After that she spent 15 years at public charter schools in Chicago, California and Milwaukee.

In the Milwaukee area, Kinser worked for Rocketship schools, part of a national network of public charter institutions, and became its executive director for the region.

In 2022 she left Rocketship for City Forward Collective, a Milwaukee nonprofit that advocates for charter and voucher schools. She also founded a consulting firm where she currently works.

Kinser, 47, tried to brand Underly as being a poor manager of the Department of Public Instruction and keyed in on her overhaul of state achievement standards last year.

Underly said that was done to better reflect what students are learning now, but the change was met with bipartisan opposition including from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who was previously state superintendent himself. Evers has not made an endorsement in the race.

Kinser said the new standards lowered the bar for students and made it more difficult to evaluate how schools and districts are performing over time.

Underly portrayed Kinser as nothing more than a lobbyist who doesn’t care about public education. Kinser supports the state’s private school voucher and charter school program, which Democrats and Underly oppose on the grounds that such programs siphon needed money away from public schools.

Longtime voter ID law could be enshrined in state constitution

Wisconsin’s photo ID requirement for voting would be elevated from state law to constitutional amendment under a proposal placed on the ballot by the Republican-controlled Legislature.

Even if voters say no to that, the requirement, which has been on the books since 2011, will remain in place as law. It went into effect permanently in 2016 after a series of unsuccessful lawsuits.

Republicans pitched the amendment it as a way to bolster election security and protect the law from being overturned in court.

Democratic opponents argued that photo ID requirements are often enforced unfairly, making voting more difficult for people of color, disabled people and poor people.

If voters pass the measure, it would make it more difficult for a future Legislature controlled by Democrats to change the law. Any constitutional amendment must be approved in two consecutive legislative sessions and by a statewide popular vote.

Wisconsin is one of nine states where people must present photo ID to vote, and its requirement is the nation’s strictest, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Thirty-six states have laws requiring or requesting that voters show some sort of identification, according to the NCSL.

Scott Bauer, The Associated Press

HUNTINGTON, N.Y. (AP) — The Senate’s top Democrat is no stranger to political maneuvering. But his latest act — a tightly choreographed blitz through Republican-held districts — signals a sharpened strategy: take the fight over federal spending directly into Trump country, and force Republicans to own the response.

On Monday, Sen. Chuck Schumer visited two nursing homes, one on Staten Island, the other in suburban Long Island, to spotlight what Democrats warn would be catastrophic consequences if Republican-led efforts to slash Medicaid succeed. The choice of backdrop was deliberate, as both facilities sit in congressional districts held by GOP members who have largely aligned with President Donald Trump’s agenda.

“I’m here to localize the budget data,” Schumer said, flanked by nurses and administrators at the Staten Island facility. “We talk about the big budget issues in Washington, but they affect real people. They affect people who need this help, and cutting it would be devastating, and that’s why we’re fighting it tooth and nail.”

What might once have been dismissed as routine constituent outreach has evolved into a full-throated, offensive-minded campaign to reframe Democrats as defenders of core social safety nets — and to force Republicans to answer for the real-world impact of their budget proposals.

Monday’s events were part of a coordinated push by Schumer and Senate Democrats to take that message into Republican-held districts, where proposed Medicaid cuts hit especially close to home. It’s a strategy aimed squarely at suburban and swing voters, as Democrats try to reclaim ground on kitchen-table issues ahead of pivotal midterm elections. And for Schumer — under pressure from progressives over recent compromises — it marks a deliberate decision to go on offense.

“Look it’s not going to work in one day, and it’s not going to work if we just do something once every week, but if we’re at it day in day out,” Schumer said in an interview with The Associated Press.

“So, we’re doing it on every front, and the public is beginning to realize how bad this stuff is, and if we keep hammering away every day, I believe Trump’s popularity and effectiveness will decline significantly,” Schumer said.

Medicaid and Medicare funding currently pays for care for the vast majority of the nation’s nursing home residents. Cuts proposed by House Republicans would shift that burden onto states, facilities, and families — or eliminate coverage outright for many of the country’s most vulnerable people. For Democrats, it’s a potent real-world consequence to contrast against abstract spending cuts and the broader GOP push for austerity.

And for Schumer, it’s a chance to remind voters that while Trump’s grip on the Republican Party remains firm, his policies have consequences far beyond cable news and campaign rallies.

Between events, Schumer toggled between party boss and retail politician. On the drive from Staten Island to Huntington, he pulled out his well-worn flip phone — a tool more common in the early Obama years than the TikTok era — to call Sen. Angus King of Maine for a birthday greeting, part of a ritual he maintains for every member of the Democratic caucus. Before hanging up, Schumer made sure to mention the crowds in New York and the Medicaid fight he’s waging.

Schumer says the Democratic strategy has crystallized around a unifying theme: that Trump and Republicans are forcing the middle class to shoulder the cost of tax breaks for the wealthy, especially through cuts to health care, Social Security, and policies like tariffs and housing.

The message, Schumer argues, offers three clear advantages. It unites the full spectrum of the Democratic caucus, from progressives like Bernie Sanders to moderates like John Fetterman. It resonates with voters across the political map,. And it allows Democrats to draw sharp, populist contrasts on issues that consistently poll in their favor.

The tour also reflects a recalibration of Democratic messaging, a return to “kitchen table” issues, as aides describe it, in the aftermath of bruising internal battles over government spending, Ukraine aid, and the Middle East. Schumer himself has been the target of progressive ire in recent weeks, with protesters gathering outside his home and left-leaning groups demanding new leadership in the Senate after his deal to keep the government open drew criticism from the Democratic base.

Rather than retreat, Schumer is leaning in — trying to unite Senate Democrats to speak collectively.

“We have to bring it home to the locality, and that’s what we’re doing,” Schumer said.

Schumer is also relying on what he refers to as an orchestra — with him as the conductor — to carry the message nationally. Sens. Chris Murphy, Brian Schatz, Chris Coons and Cory Booker are among those being deployed to amplify the message nationally. The Senate Democratic digital operation has also ramped up outreach, with influencers, local surrogates and community leaders helping push out clips and messaging, he said.

“Our digital outreach has gone up dramatically,” Schumer said on the drive through his Brooklyn neighborhood. “I think Democrats in the presidential campaign didn’t do it well and didn’t do enough of it, but we had like 80 influencers there on the State of the Union, and now we’ll have a whole bunch.”

For Schumer, the message is clear: Democrats aren’t waiting for campaign season to begin defining the stakes of the next election. The famously relentless tactician is betting that if Democrats keep showing up, even in the reddest corners, voters will start listening.

Michael Balsamo, The Associated Press

OCALA, Fla. (AP) — Tuesday’s special elections for two Florida congressional seats in heavily pro-Trump districts have become an unexpected source of concern for national Republicans as Democrats have poured millions in fundraising into the races.

Both seats opened when President Donald Trump chose their representatives for jobs in his second administration. Matt Gaetz was briefly nominated to be Trump’s attorney general before withdrawing, while Mike Waltz became national security adviser.

Florida state Sen. Randy Fine, running for Waltz’s seat, and state Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, running to replace Gaetz, are widely expected to hold the seats in their reliably conservative districts, which would give Republicans a 220 to 213 advantage over Democrats in the U.S. House. But both have been outraised by their Democratic counterparts, and Republicans in Florida and Washington have begun trying to distance themselves from any potential underperformance.

Fine has attached himself closely to Trump. He texted The Associated Press on Monday a post on the social platform X from Trump, who encouraged voters to turn out for Fine on Election Day and said Fine was an “incredible fighter.”

Special elections are often low-turnout events that can lead to surprising results. But anything other than blowout victories in either district would be noteworthy.

In the November election, Gaetz won the 1st Congressional District in Florida’s heavily conservative Panhandle by 32 percentage points. Waltz won the 6th Congressional District — which includes deeply red regions in northeastern Florida — by about 33 percentage points.

Both Patronis and Fine have been outspent and outraised by their Democratic opponents, Gay Valimont in District 1 and Josh Weil in District 6.

Valimont has raised about $6.5 million according to fundraising reports, versus Patronis’ $2.1 million. Weil has raised $9 million for his race, compared to about $1 million raised by Fine, according to his campaign contributions report.

Democrats credit the money raised in these races to grassroots support fueled by anger at the first two months of the second Trump administration.

This momentum is placing unexpected pressure on Fine, a self-described conservative firebrand who lives outside of the district. Fine said last week that he put $600,000 of his own money into the race.

Fine is known for his support of Israel and his efforts to restrict LGBTQ+ rights. Over the past few years, he has sparred with Gov. Ron DeSantis, recently during the Legislature’s special session on immigration, and again in August when he criticized the governor’s trip to Ireland, calling it an “antisemitic country” after the island nation recognized a Palestinian state.

DeSantis, who formerly represented the 6th Congressional District before becoming governor, said last week that he expects Fine to deliver an “underperformance” compared to the votes he and Trump got in that district. He called it a “reflection of the specific candidate running in that race” rather than a reflection on Trump.

“I think the district is so overwhelmingly Republican that it’s almost impossible for someone with an R by their name to lose that district, so I would anticipate (a) Republican candidate is still going to be successful,” DeSantis said.

Weil is an educator and single father with two boys who describes himself as a “proud progressive.” He unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat that was occupied by Republican Marco Rubio. Weil withdrew his candidacy before the primary in a crowded field that ended up nominating former Rep. Val Demings, who lost to Rubio.

He appeared at a Monday rally of about 100 volunteers, veterans, retired residents and even Republicans who decided to work in his campaign. He thanked the group for their support

“Your voices are essential for me being able to serve you in Congress,” Weil said.

The crowd cheered and waved signs reading “A Teacher Representing You.”

North Carolina Rep. Richard Hudson, who heads the National Republican Congressional Committee, also acknowledged Fine should have stepped up his fundraising earlier but said he still expects him to win.

“I’m not concerned about margins,” Hudson said. “I mean, special elections are special.”

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Associated Press writer Curt Anderson in Tampa contributed to this report.

Stephany Matat, The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Elections in Florida and Wisconsin have become key tests of President Donald Trump’s political standing two months into his second White House term.

The marquee race Tuesday is for a swing seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, a technically nonpartisan election that has drawn at least $90 million in spending. Trump and billionaire adviser Elon Musk are backing conservative judge Brad Schimel while progressive billionaires and Democrats support liberal Susan Crawford.

Two Republican-friendly Florida congressional seats could give the GOP some breathing room in the narrowly divided chamber. But Democrats in both districts have far outraised their GOP counterparts, and national Republicans have been publicly concerned in particular about the race to replace Mike Waltz, now Trump’s national security adviser.

Here are the places to watch as the vote results are reported on election night:

Wisconsin: How big will Democrats win in Milwaukee and Madison?

In any statewide election in Wisconsin, Democrats tend to win by large margins in the populous counties of Milwaukee and Dane (home of Madison). But the size of that win is usually a big factor in who wins statewide, especially in a close contest.

In 2024, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris carried Milwaukee with 68% of the vote and Dane with 75% while narrowly losing statewide. That same night, Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin ran about 2 percentage points ahead of Harris in both counties and narrowly won reelection.

In 2023, the Democratic Party-backed Supreme Court candidate Janet Protasiewicz received 73% of the vote in Milwaukee and 82% of the vote in Dane and went on to win statewide by an 11-percentage-point margin.

Wisconsin: How big will Republicans win in the ‘WOW’ counties?

Republicans tend to do well in the suburban Milwaukee counties of Washington, Ozaukee and Waukesha — the so-called “WOW” counties. A strong Republican showing in these counties can help counter the Democratic advantage in urban areas. Republican candidates have carried all three counties in every major statewide election going back to at least 2016.

Wisconsin: Who’s ahead in Green Bay?

Republican candidates tend to win Brown County, which is home to Green Bay, but not by huge blowouts. Trump carried the county in all three of his presidential campaigns with between 52% and 53% of the vote.

But since the 2016 election, there have been two Democrats who carried Brown County and went on to win statewide: Tony Evers in his bid for governor in 2018 and more recently Protasiewicz in her 2023 state Supreme Court race.

A Democrat can still win statewide without winning Brown (such as Democrat Joe Biden in 2020, Evers’ reelection in 2022 and all three of Baldwin’s U.S. Senate runs). But if they do carry Brown, it’s probably going to be a rough night for Republicans.

Wisconsin: What’s the situation in Sauk?

Sauk County, northwest of Madison, is a competitive area in statewide elections that usually ends up supporting the Democratic candidate, albeit by slim margins. It falls somewhere in the middle of Wisconsin’s 72 counties in terms of population, and the margins are usually so small that statewide elections aren’t typically won or lost in Sauk.

Democrats or Democratic-backed candidates had a long winning streak in Sauk, having carried the county in eight of the last 10 major statewide elections. But the two exceptions are notable: Trump carried Sauk in 2016 and 2024, when he won Wisconsin and the White House.

While Sauk won’t likely place a decisive role in Tuesday’s elections, a victory there by a Republican-backed candidate may be a good sign for the party statewide.

Florida: Voting history favors Republicans

Democrats are encouraged by the strong fundraising performances of their nominees to replace Waltz and former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, but the special elections take place in two congressional districts that have long been safe Republican territory.

Trump received about 68% of the vote in 2024 in the Florida Panhandle’s 1st Congressional District, slightly outperforming the 66% Gaetz received in his reelection bid. In the 6th Congressional District on the Atlantic coast, Trump received roughly 65% of the vote, just behind the 67% Waltz received in his final House reelection bid.

The four counties that make up the 1st District have voted for Republican presidential candidates almost continually for the past 60 years. Only Walton County went for a Democrat on one occasion since 1960, although all four voted for Democrat-turned-independent candidate George Wallace in 1968. Today, the part of Walton County that falls within the 1st District is the most reliably Republican of the four counties.

Republican presidential candidates have carried all six counties in the 6th District for the last four presidential elections. The Republican winning streak in some of the counties stretches back for decades before that. Lake County, for instance, hasn’t supported a Democrat for president since Franklin Roosevelt in 1944. Trump and Waltz performed best in Putnam County, where they both received about 74% of the vote.

Florida: Where to look for signs of a possible Democratic upset

If Democrats manage to pull off upsets in either the 1st or 6th districts, the first indications may be in their best performing counties.

Given the Republican advantage in both districts, the Democrats’ best areas are still places where Republicans performed well. In the 1st District, Trump and Gaetz did comparatively the worst in Escambia County, although they still received 59% and 57% of the county vote, respectively.

In the 6th District, Democrats may do best in Volusia County, where Trump received 58% and Waltz received about 60%. Republican presidential candidates have carried Volusia in the last four elections, but the area used to be more friendly territory for Democrats, who won the county for six consecutive elections from 1992 through 2008.

Robert Yoon, The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — As they readied to leave work Monday, some workers at the Food and Drug Administration were told to pack their laptops and prepare for the possibility that they wouldn’t be back, according to an email obtained by The Associated Press.

Nervous employees — roughly 82,000 across the nation’s public health agencies — waited to see whether pink slips would arrive in their inboxes. The mass dismissals have been expected since Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced last week a massive reorganization that will result in 20,000 fewer jobs at the Department of Health and Human Services. About 10,000 will be eliminated through layoffs.

The email sent to some at the FDA said staffers should check their email for a possible notice that their jobs would be eliminated, which would also halt their access to government buildings. An FDA employee shared the email with AP on condition of anonymity, because they weren’t authorized to disclose internal agency matters.

Kennedy has criticized the department he oversees as an inefficient “sprawling bureaucracy” and said the department’s $1.7 trillion yearly budget “has failed to improve the health of Americans.” He plans to streamline operations and fold entire agencies — such as the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration — into a new Administration for a Healthy America.

On Friday, dozens of federal health employees working to stop infectious diseases from spreading were put on leave.

Several current and former federal officials told The AP that the Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy was hollowed out that night. Some employees posted on LinkedIn about the office emptying. And an HIV and public health expert who works directly with the office was emailed a notice saying that all staff had been asked to leave. The expert spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity over fears of losing future work on the issue.

Several of the office’s advisory committees — including the National Vaccine Advisory Committee and others that advise on HIV/AIDs response — have had their meetings canceled.

“It puts a number of important efforts to improve the health of Americans at risk,” said Dr. Robert H. Hopkins Jr., the former chair of the National Vaccine Advisory Committee, an advisory committee of the office.

An HHS official said the office is not being closed but that the department is seeking to consolidate the work and reduce redundancies.

Also, as of Monday, a website for the Office of Minority Health was disabled, with an error message saying the page “does not exist.”

Beyond layoffs at federal health agencies, cuts have begun at state and local health departments as a result of an HHS move last week to pull back more than $11 billion in COVID-19-related funds.

Local and state health officials are still assessing the impact, but some health departments have already identified hundreds of jobs that stand to be eliminated because of lost funding, “some of them overnight, some of them are already gone,” said Lori Tremmel Freeman, chief executive of the National Association of County and City Health Officials.

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Associated Press writer Carla K. Johnson in Seattle contributed reporting.

Amanda Seitz And Matthew Perrone, The Associated Press