We’ve almost reached the end of another week. But before we clock out for the weekend, we’re giving credit where it’s due. Judge Susan Crawford is the latest champion in our Winner of the Week series.

Elon Musk, President Trump’s favorite billionaire, made himself the main character of this week’s Wisconsin state Supreme Court election, throwing around PAC money to “supporters” of his preferred candidate in a move that really seems like buying votes, even if, upon closer inspection…yeah, it still seems like he’s buying votes.

His bizarre and costly stunts were all in service of defeating Judge Susan Crawford, a Dane County circuit court judge with reasonable, liberal-leaning positions on issues like abortion and voter ID laws. Crawford is a former prosecutor and mother of two with experience in the state attorney general’s office and strong labor and union support.

Her opponent, Brad Schimel, positioned himself as the “tough on crime” candidate, but as with so many state-level elections that gain national attention, the battle wasn’t really between the people running. It was about the parties (though judgeships are technically nonpartisan, Crawford has been endorsed by the Democrats, Schimel by the Republicans) and laying the groundwork for the next election.

To sum up, Wisconsin is a swing state that had a 4-3 liberal majority on its bench, but with Democrat-affiliated Justice Ann Walsh Bradley’s retirement, as goes this election, so goes Wisconsin, and possibly the nation. A redistricting line here, a voter ID law there, and Wisconsin’s electoral votes could make or break 2028 (last year President Trump won the state by almost 30,000 votes). That’s why Musk cared enough to put on a cheese hat.