Checks and cheeseheads colliding on April Fool's Day for an election that is no joke.

The lead starts right now.

Welcome to the lead.

I am Jake Tapper here in the nation's capital along with Caitlin Collins, who is at the White House.

Please cue that election music. There it is, because we're just hours

away from polls closing in what is a huge first test for President Trump and in some ways

Elon Musk and, of course, the Democratic Party. Americans are voting right now in three

key races that we're watching closely. The biggest and most expensive is in

Wisconsin. Susan Crawford is facing off against Trump's candidate Brad Schimel for a seat

on the state's Supreme Court. It's a court that might take up redistricting, which could impact

the balance of power in the House of Representatives. This was always going to be a high-stakes

race, but it's been supercharged because of Elon Musk. The billionaire and groups aligned with him

have dropped more than $20 million in support of Schimel. He has personally handed out checks.

He's rallied voters in Wisconsin wearing one of those cheeseheads, and he has described the race

as one that will determine

the course of American and Western civilization.

In Florida, we are watching two special elections

for the House of Representatives,

both in deep red districts that Trump easily carried

just five months ago.

Democrats, however, are hoping to cut down the margins,

perhaps even pulling off a long shot

...