Republicans are largely dismissing concerns about Elon Musk’s political liability in the wake of their loss in Wisconsin, where he played a central role. Their views so far seem to be reflected by President Trump, who has stood by Musk even as the tech billionaire has emerged as Democrats’ ma in foil amid sweeping anger over federal cuts made under his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). While some members of the GOP acknowledged that Musk was at least a factor in their loss in the Badger State, they generally played down any negative impact he had and expressed doubt he would be a significant factor in future elections. Meanwhile, some argued his involvement was a net positive.  “I think, ultimately, Musk is a value added and the way that they're trying to do some of the creative outside-the-box thinking for low-prop Republicans or unactivated voters to get them to participate in these type of elections, I think, is great press,” said Jimmy Keady, a Virginia Republican strategist working on state legislative races this cycle. Republicans lost a critical race on Tuesday after liberal candidate Susan Crawford defeated conservative Brad Schimel for an open seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court — a race that saw record spending in a state Supreme Court election. The party saw several smaller bright spots on Tuesday after voters handily passed a ballot measure in Wisconsin that adds photo ID requirements for voting into the state constitution.  Republican candidates also won two special elections for House seats in Florida, though experts noted both underperformed in their districts. While Musk’s America PAC spent in two Florida elections, it was in Wisconsin where the tech billionaire invested heavily. Both he and Trump endorsed Schimel in the race, and Musk’s super PAC alone spent close to $13 million to support the conservative candidate. Musk also flew to Wisconsin the Sunday before the election to hand out $1 million checks to multiple voters who signed his petition against “activist judges.” Some Republicans applauded Musk's efforts, saying he helped the party’s odds in fighting for the open court seat. “Without Elon, the Democrat would have spent even more, maybe spent more than our side did, but it would have been even more lopsided,” said Republican strategist Dave Carney. “I doubt there’s a candidate in the country that wouldn’t want Elon to come in and help campaign with” them, he added. Other strategists acknowledge that Musk’s presence and Democrats’ anger around him offered Crawford a boost in the race. But they also suggest Wisconsin offered a unique case. “On April 1, 2025, certainly the anger that Democrats have toward Musk and Trump helped propel additional votes for Crawford. That doesn't explain the whole margin,” said Wisconsin Republican strategist Mark Graul. “I don’t think it had that massive of an effect, but certainly was part of [the] mix,” he said. Yet Graul said he was skeptical that Musk would be as prominent of a figure down the road. “I'm not convinced that Musk is going to be — that he's got the staying power as such a prominent issue in these races. I mean … obviously he's a very visible figure right now. I'm assuming that that's not always going to be the case,” he added. Brandon Scholz, a former GOP strategist in Wisconsin, believed Musk played a role in hurting Republicans’ chances to keep the seat, though like many others he said the Supreme Court race was a unique circumstance. “My personal opinion is, had Musk, like other millionaires and billionaires just put their money, put his money in, ‘Here's my $20 million,’ and then gone on to do other things, it might have been a little different,” Scholz, a former state GOP executive director, said. “But when he became personally engaged, when he became part of the campaign, when he became part of the ballot with Schimel, I think that that started to erode some of what Schimel needed.” Of course, it’s not Musk’s first time getting involved in politics. His America PAC also invested heavily in the November elections, in which Trump defeated former Vice President Kamala Harris in all seven battleground states. Charles Franklin, the director of the Marquette Law School Poll, noted that both sides saw significant turnout, an upside for both parties. Additionally, some members of the party, including even Musk himself, said they assumed Schimel would lose. “I expected to lose, but there is value to losing a piece for a positional gain,” Musk said Wednesday on the social platform X, which he owns, in response to another user on X. Between November and this spring, however, Musk has become a galvanizing figure for Democrats who have called him an unelected bureaucrat and attacked him for how the government has rapidly downsized its workforce through DOGE. And while some polls suggest voters like the idea of DOGE itself, Musk is not as popular. An NBC News poll released last month, for example, found 46 percent of respondents thought DOGE was a good idea, while 40 percent said it was a bad idea. Thirty-three percent of respondents in the poll said they believed Musk, DOGE and its efforts to slash federal bureaucracy should continue, as much more needed to be done; 28 percent said they were needed but suggested it should be slowed down to assess impact; and another 33 percent viewed DOGE's efforts as reckless and said they needed to stop immediately. When it came to positive and negative ratings of Musk himself, 39 percent of respondents had a positive view of him compared with 51 percent who felt the opposite. “I think we may view him right now the same as the voters do, which is a liability,” Heather Williams, the president of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, said on a call with reporters, referring to Musk. Wisconsin State Assembly Leader Greta Neubauer (D) told reporters on the call that while she was door-knocking for candidates, “I consistently heard that people are not happy with Elon Musk, with what he's doing in Washington, and that they found it insulting that he came to Wisconsin, put on a cheesehead and offered people a million dollars for voting.” Musk still has strong allies within the White House. Trump last month lauded Musk, while noting that Musk would be eventually leaving the White House. “I think he’s amazing, but I also think he’s got a big company to run. At some point he’s going to be going back. He wants to,” the president told reporters. “I’d keep him as long as I can keep him. He’s a very talented guy.” Vice President Vance said on Thursday that even after Musk leaves the White House, “Elon is going to remain a friend and an adviser of both me and the president.” A source familiar with his thinking says he’s still going to be invested in politics going forward. Members of the party hope that’s the case, saying they’d welcome him to get involved in races this fall and next. “I think that Republicans have to solve off-year turnout problems,” Keady said. “If there's creative ways to solve those off-year problems, to get those federal voters to come out and vote [in] state years, then I think we need to engage all those options.” ...read more read less