Wisconsin Democrats vent, cry and issue call to action to counter Musk and Trump

SAUK CITY, Wis. (AP) — They came to vent and to cry and to exhort.

The overflow crowd of frustrated Democrats who met this week in a small Wisconsin city's library voiced anger over President Donald Trump, his billionaire adviser Elon Musk and the direction of the country. One person called for riots. Another said he was embarrassed to be an American.

But their barbs weren't limited to Republicans.

Some Democrats who gathered under St. Patrick's Day decorations in the Sauk City library's meeting room questioned their own party's messaging and expressed fear about losing a high-stakes upcoming state Supreme Court election.

The April 1 election will be a litmus test early in Trump's term in a key presidential swing state. Control of the court is on the line as it faces cases over abortion and reproductive rights, the strength of public sector unions, voting rules and congressional district boundaries.

Sauk County, home to small towns like Baraboo, Prairie du Sac and the tourist city Wisconsin Dells, has voted for the winner of the past five presidential races, including Trump in 2016 and 2024 and former President Joe Biden in 2020.

Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Ben Wikler called it “the most bellwether county in the most bellwether state.”

More than 170 people turned out for the Thursday night event billed by Wisconsin Democrats as a “People v. Musk” town hall. They held signs that said “Don't Let Elon Musk Buy Wisconsin” and “Trump is Weak on Musk.”

One by one they took the microphone to cajole, rage and commiserate. One transgender woman begged fellow Democrats to “not forget about us.”

“We won't!” someone in the crowd shouted back.

The town hall was the first of several planned to generate excitement for the Democratic-backed candidate running in the state Supreme Court election, Susan Crawford. She is running against Brad Schimel, a former Republican state attorney general supported by Musk.

Groups backed by Musk have poured more than $5 million into the race, casting the election of Schimel as imperative to protecting Trump’s agenda.

Wikler, who presided over the meeting, put the stakes of the race in stark terms: “We are in a fight for democracy itself.”

Here is some of the attendees had to say:

Maureen Oostdik, 77, retired public health worker from Lodi

Oostdik, a lifelong Democrat, told The Associated Press that she’s frustrated with the Supreme Court campaign and previously called the Democratic Party to tell them “their PR is horrible” and “you guys are going to lose.”

“Your ads, they’re not good,” she said of those for Crawford. “It’s basically all about abortion, but there are a lot of people who are crossover voters. They’re not necessarily in one camp or another. They don’t have a broad strategy for capturing what other people may be interested in.”

Oostdik said she didn’t think the traditional ways of running campaigns, like going door to door to talk to voters, were effective anymore.

“I don’t know what the gameplan is, but it feels like we’re on the heels of a big loss and I don’t have a lot of hope for April,” she said.

Laurel Burns, 40, customer service worker from Sauk City

Burns, a single mother of two teenagers who works part-time in customer service for an insurance company, was born without arms and gets about half of her income from Social Security. Burns said she came to represent other disabled people who are scared about possible cuts to Medicaid and Social Security.

“It’s a very scary time for a lot of people,” Burns said.

That’s why Burns thinks Democrats will be motivated to vote in the Supreme Court race.

“I feel like we’ve been sleeping behind the wheel a little bit,” she said. “Hopefully people do the right thing.”

Tracey Baggot, 68, massage therapist from Wisconsin Dells

“I'm really upset,” Baggot said before the town hall began.

Upset about what?

“The obvious. Trump,” she said. “That's the first time I've said his name in a long time.”

Baggot called Musk a “joke.”

“He has no right being involved in any of the government, politics or decision making at all,” she said.

Baggot said she came out to Thursday's meeting because Democrats “really got to increase our energy.”

Despite her concerns, Baggot said she was optimistic about the Democratic-backed Crawford winning the upcoming Supreme Court election.

“I really feel that she has a great chance,” she said. “I'm feeling really positive about this. I thought the same about Kamala, but it didn’t work out. But I feel so much is changing now.”

Susan Knower, 71, therapist from Baraboo

“What I see in Sauk County is we are angry and we are afraid,” Knower, who chairs the Sauk County Democratic Party, told the audience.

Knower said she was “thrilled” that Democrats were attempting to link Musk with Schimel.

“It’s so important that we make sure everyone knows Brad Schimmel is going to promote these MAGA-extreme policies," she said.

Knower referred to a Marquette University Law School poll of Wisconsin voters released this week that showed virtually all Democrats had an unfavorable opinion of Musk.

“Make sure when you’re talking to people we connect Elon Musk to Brad Schimel and to Donald Trump,” she said.

Schimel endorsed Trump and has said he would welcome Trump's involvement in the court race. In addition to the money Musk has poured into the race, he also posted on his social media platform X that it was “very important” to elect a Republican.

Timothy Hinton, 72, retired doctor from New Lisbon

Hinton said he doesn't know much about the court race, other than that he's voting for Crawford.

“I saw her interviewed on television," he said. "She made a lot of sense.”

Hinton said the country is “immersed in complete and utter chaos,” but he's not sure if fellow Democrats will feel motivated to express their concerns by voting in the state Supreme Court election.

“I think if Democrats show up, they will win,” he said. “If they don’t show up, she will lose. It’s that simple, in my mind.”