Crawford recuses herself from Musk case as Dems hammer Schimel over campaign contributions

KENOSHA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- As the final days of the Wisconsin Supreme Court race approach, the campaign rhetoric is reaching a fever pitch.

Liberal candidate Susan Crawford held rallies in Beloit and Kenosha Friday, March 28, and Elon Musk and his campaign donations to her opponent were top of mind.

At the Kenosha rally, Crawford jokingly told supporters, "I need to talk for just a minute or two about my opponent, Elon Musk."

Crawford and her fellow Democrats targeted Elon Musk early and often, taking aim at Schimel and his most famous billionaire donor.

Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler said of Musk, "He's got his perfect puppet, his perfect partner, in Brad Schimel."

The record-shattering money pouring into the race from around the country has voters both worried and amused.

Crawford supporter Michelle Parham told us, "I wish I would've had some of his money. I hear he's been giving it away," in reference to the legally questionable $1 million payments Musk says he's giving to Wisconsin voters who back Schimel.

Crawford has benefitted from $2 million from billionaire George Soros and $1.5 million from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker.

But Democrats say that pales in comparison to the more than $20 million Musk has funneled to Schimel's campaign.

Wikler worries the outside interest in Wisconsin could be the tip of a dangerous iceberg, telling us, "The stakes are enormous, not just for Wisconsin but for all of American democracy, about whether this country's for sale."

Crawford and her surrogates have taken every opportunity to hammer Musk whenever possible.

But on Friday came a rarity: Crawford distanced herself from Musk on one particular issue. Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul's lawsuit against Musk's voter payments was randomly assigned to Crawford in Dane County court.

Crawford said, "You know, you can't make the stuff up."

She recused herself, and the case was reassigned to a different judge.

"I couldn't believe it, but I knew that I had to get the paperwork done to make sure that I was off the case as quickly as possible," Crawford said.

She said she's trying to keep the focus on the issues but is well aware that money is dominating the conversation.

Crawford has crisscrossed the state leading into the final weekend of the campaign, trying to connect with voters on key issues like women's reproductive rights.

But her campaign says Musk is a major distraction.

Crawford said Friday, "It's too bad that we have to spend so much time and energy talking about Elon Musk rather than talking about what's really important here."