Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Susan Crawford waves during her election night party after winning the election Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf) (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)
"These races proved what we’ve seen over and over again this year: people are already fed up with Trump’s chaos agenda and they’re voting for a change," Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin emphasized in an email to supporters.
But Republican National Committee chair Mike Whatley, pointing to the Florida victories, countered that "the American people sent a clear message…they want elected officials who will advance President Trump’s America First agenda, and their votes can’t be bought by national Democrats."
LIBERAL-LEANING CANDIDATE WINS FIRST MAJOR STATEWIDE ELECTION OF THE YEAR
In Wisconsin, liberal-leaning Judge Susan Crawford topped conservative-leaning Judge Brad Schimel by roughly 10 percentage points, to preserve the liberal majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which is likely to rule going forward on crucial issues like congressional redistricting, voting rights, labor rights and abortion.
With a massive infusion of money from Democratic-aligned and Republican-aligned groups from outside Wisconsin, which turned the technically nonpartisan race into the most expensive judicial election in the nation's history, the contest partially transformed into a proxy battle over Trump as well as Musk, who personally inserted himself into the election.
Republican Randy Fine, center, won the April 1, 2025, special election to fill the vacancy left by Mike Waltz's resignation to be Trump's national security advisor. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
But the Democratic candidates in the two special congressional elections vastly outraised their Republican counterparts – a sign that the party's base is angry and energized – which forced GOP-aligned outside groups to pour money and resources into the races during the final stretch. And the Democratic candidates ended up losing by 15 and 14 points in districts that Trump carried by 37 and 30 points in last November's presidential election.
REPUBLICANS HOLD CONTROL OF TWO VACANT CONGRESSIONAL SEATS IN THIS RED STATE
Democrats quickly spotlighted how the party "overperformed" in Florida. And the House Majority PAC, the top super PAC supporting House Democrats, touted that the results showed "that the political headwinds are firmly at our backs heading into 2026."
President Donald Trump holds a chart as he delivers remarks on reciprocal tariffs during an event in the Rose Garden entitled "Make America Wealthy Again" at the White House in Washington, DC, on April 2, 2025. Trump geared up to unveil sweeping new "Liberation Day" tariffs in a move that threatens to ignite a devastating global trade war. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images) (Getty Images)
But Democrats have a serious brand issue right now.
The party's favorable rating sank to all-time lows in separate national polls conducted last month by CNN and NBC News. Those numbers followed a record low for Democrats in a Quinnipiac University survey in the field in February.
Additionally, the latest Fox News National poll indicated that congressional Democrats' approval rating is at 30%, near an all-time low. And Democratic activists are irate over their party's inability to blunt Trump's agenda.
And when it comes to normally low-turnout off-year elections and special elections, the party in power – which in the nation's capital is clearly the Republicans – often faces political headwinds.
"We'll get up to fight another day. But this wasn't our day," Schimel said in his concession speech.
Judge Brad Schimel concedes his election loss in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, on April 1, 2025. (Fox News - Paul Steinhauser)
And Wisconsin GOP chair Brian Schimming noted that "coming off a successful November, we knew the April elections would be challenging."
DNC chair Martin is touting that "Democrats have won or over-performed in nearly every special election race this year, including this week’s."
But Republicans note that Democrats enjoyed a slew of special election victories in 2023 and 2024 before suffering serious setbacks in last November's elections.
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"Special elections are special for a reason, and not always useful canaries in the coal mines for what lies ahead," veteran Republican strategist Colin Reed told Fox News Digital. "While they can be used as a barometer for energy, they are also a reflection of the individual candidates whose names are on the ballots."
And Gorman emphasized that special elections "are not predictive."
Reed argued that "the bigger challenge for the Democrats looking ahead is the lack of a vision or governing agenda beyond reflexive and blanket opposition to the White House and their continued positioning way outside the mainstream on a slew of commonsense issues."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-musk-face-blame-setbacks-wisconsin-florida-elections-crystal-ball-2026-midterms