A trio of elections Tuesday provided early warning signs to Republicans and President Donald Trump at the beginning of an ambitious term.
The first major elections in the country since November were seen as a litmus test of how voters feel about Trump's first months back in office and the role played by his billionaire adviser Elon Musk, whose unit has torn through federal agencies and laid off thousands of workers.
The Democratic-backed candidate for Wisconsin Supreme Court defeated a challenger endorsed by Trump and Musk, touting her victory as a win against powerful interests and cementing a liberal majority for at least three more years.
While Florida Republicans held two of the most pro-Trump House districts in the country, both candidates also significantly underperformed compared to Trump's November margins.
In Florida, Republican Randy Fine won his special election in the 6th District to replace Rep. Mike Waltz, who stepped down to serve as Trump's national security adviser, where he has been embroiled in the Signal chat controversy. But Fine's Democratic challenger, Josh Weil, lost by 14 points less than five months after Waltz won the district by 33.
Jimmy Patronis, the state's chief financial officer, fended off a challenge from Democrat Gay Valimont to win the northwest Florida seat vacated by Matt Gaetz, but underperformed Gaetz's last margin of victory.
The pair of wins gave Republicans a 220-213 margin in the House of Representative at a time when concerns about a thin Republican majority led Trump to pull the nomination of New York Rep. Elise Stefanik to be United Nations ambassador.
Record spending in Wisconsin raceSusan Crawford, a Dane County judge who led legal fights to protect union power and abortion rights and to oppose voter ID, stood on stage in Madison, Wisconsin's capital, surrounded by the court's four current liberal justices.
Musk and groups he backed had spent more than $21 million US in an effort to defeat her. He even travelled to Wisconsin two days before the election to personally hand over $1 million checks to two voters.
"Today Wisconsinites fended off an unprecedented attack on our democracy, our fair elections and our Supreme Court," Crawford said in her victory speech.
Democratic Supreme Court candidate Susan Crawford, centre, speaks in Madison, Wis., during her election night party after winning the election Tuesday. (Kayla Wolf/The Associated Press)Overnight, Musk posted on his X platform that "The long con of the left is corruption of the judiciary." In another comment, he seemed to take solace from voters' approval to elevate the state's photo ID requirement from state law to constitutional amendment.
Crawford was beating Republican Brad Schimel by more than eight points, based on unofficial results. Turnout exceeded 52 per cent of the voting age population, topping the record set in 2023 of nearly 40 per cent. Spending was on its way to surpass $100 million, breaking records.
Trump, who endorsed Schimel just 11 days before the election, won Wisconsin in November by 0.8 percentage points, or fewer than 30,000 votes.
Schimel told his supporters he had conceded to Crawford, leading to yells of anger. One woman began to chant, "Cheater, cheater!"
"No," Schimel said. "You've got to accept the results."
The court can decide election-related laws and settle disputes over future election outcomes, and the state has seen pitched battles in elections the past 15 years. The previous record for the most expensive court race on record in the U.S. was also in Wisconsin, a total of $51 million spent for a state Supreme Court race in 2023.
Crawford's win keeps the court under a 4-3 liberal majority.
The court likely will be deciding cases on abortion, public sector unions, voting rules and congressional district boundaries. Who controls the court also could factor into how it might rule on any future voting challenge in the perennial presidential battleground state, which raised the stakes of the race for national Republicans and Democrats.
Florida Republicans downplay narrower winsBoth Patronis and Fine were badly outraised by their Democratic challengers. Michael Whatley, chairman of the Republican National Committee, argued that what was a Republican concern before Tuesday night had been a sign of the party's strength.
"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," he said in a statement.
Republican candidate Randy Fine, right, meets with supporters after the special election for U.S. House District 6 was called in his favour on Tuesda, in Ormond Beach, Fla. (Phelan M. Ebenhack/The Associated Press)Patronis worked the crowd of about 100 people, shaking hands and giving hugs, his wife Katie and two sons in tow.
"Let it be known that this election is a reminder the Florida Panhandle will forever be red, and it'll forever be Trump country," Patronis told his supporters. "And even their $6 million could not overcome one simple post on social media by Donald Trump."
Fine downplayed the narrowing margin, saying it was in the double digits and in a special election.
"I think it's hard to say that's an underperformance," Fine said.
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"This result is also a warning sign to Donald Trump, Randy Fine, and the unelected oligarchs taking apart the government," Weil said.