On paper, the election in Wisconsin on Tuesday is about who should control the state’s highest court. In reality, it has become a referendum on Elon Musk, his agenda in Washington and his willingness to flood American politics with his money.

Reid J. Epstein, who has been covering this campaign for The Times, explains why it has become the local election that everyone is watching.

Guest: Reid J. Epstein, a New York Times reporter covering politics.

Background reading:

Tuesday’s election will reveal what’s more powerful: Elon Musk’s millions, or liberal anger at him.
Mr. Musk and Tesla have a legal bone to pick with Wisconsin.
The billionaire has returned to his Trump playbook in the race.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Photo: Jim Vondruska for The New York Times

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

MacroVoices #499 Has The Luke Gromen Moment Arrived?

Macro Voices

How Policymakers Will Run the Economy Hot

The AI-powered Podcast Player