The operative running Mr. Musk’s America PAC in Wisconsin, Keith Gilkes, was on vacation for 10 days during the race’s final stretch, which raised eyebrows among some involved in the race, according to two people with direct knowledge. Mr. Gilkes did not attend Mr. Musk’s rally in Green Bay. He did not respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.
Mr. Musk had talked openly about his desire to spend “heavily” in 2025 on local races, like those for district attorney and judges. His engagement in the Wisconsin race came just eight days after Tesla sued the state over a law restricting vehicle sales. A few weeks later, Mr. Musk’s groups began a pro-Schimel advertising campaign, and he began building a canvassing operation that included up to 500 people across the state who knocked on doors for around $25 an hour.
Mr. Musk made himself central to his group’s messaging. “I am with America PAC, an organization run by Elon Musk,” reads part of one question that Wisconsin canvassers said at doors. Later, they ask: “Can President Trump and Elon Musk count on you to vote for Brad Schimel?”
Judge Schimel’s team felt they were often given very late notice about Mr. Musk’s activities in the state, including Mr. Musk’s desire for an X Spaces event with Judge Schimel himself, according to a person close to the campaign. Judge Schimel had less than a day’s notice before that event was finalized, and he was previously scheduled to be on a bus tour throughout the state. So he had to rent a hotel in rural Wisconsin to ensure he would have good internet access for the event, according to two people with knowledge of his schedule.
Mr. Musk, who has achieved wild success running his companies, has appeared to some Trump aides to be frustrated that he has not been able to sufficiently exert his will over the federal bureaucracy while running the Department of Government Efficiency, his government overhaul initiative. He has raged about judicial rulings and exhorted his team to bulldoze through internal rules and regulations, but his progress has been slower than he imagined, people who have spoken to him said.
Mr. Musk had pushed to be a special government employee, a role that is unique in that it is limited to a 130-day duration. These employees are not subject to various ethics rules, and they sometimes are able to fudge the time limits that supposedly bracket their work. He could theoretically return as a special government employee in 2026, but Mr. Musk said in an interview last week that he would “have accomplished most of the work” he set out to within the 130-day time frame.
