Senate Dems sue to remove GOP candidate from ballot in key district

In recent weeks, Skinner has come under scrutiny for claiming residence in two states, Wisconsin and Georgia, and for voting in both. The lawsuit was filed by the Wisconsin State Senate Democratic Committee, the campaign arm of the Senate Democratic caucus, in Dane County Circuit Court. It was filed against Skinner and the Wisconsin Elections Commission, which had dismissed a complaint against Skinner.

The lawsuit alleges that Georgia is Skinner’s primary residence and therefore she should be disqualified from running for office in Wisconsin.

David Hollander, the attorney representing the SSDC, stated in the lawsuit that “because Skinner is not a Wisconsin resident and is therefore constitutionally ineligible for office, Plaintiffs seek an order directing WEC not to certify Skinner as a candidate for placement on the November 2026 general election ballot.” 

“Likewise, because she is not a Wisconsin resident, the Court should remove Skinner from seat on the Eau Claire County Board.” 

In order to be eligible to run for the state Legislature, the Wisconsin State Constitution requires candidates to have lived in Wisconsin for one year and to be qualified electors in the district where they are running.

The lawsuit alleges that while Skinner has a home in Altoona, she uses a home in Dawsonville, Georgia as her primary residence. 

The lawsuit notes that Skinner voted in Georgia in 2021 during a runoff election when both of the state’s U.S. Senate seats were closely contested, and notes that Wisconsin state statute says if a person moves to another state and exercises the right to vote then the person loses Wisconsin residency. It also states that Skinner received a Wisconsin Lottery tax credit in 2025 —the same year her husband claimed a Georgia homestead property exemption. 

“Robert Skinner could only do so if the Georgia Home was the principal residence for both him and his spouse — Skinner,” the lawsuit states. 

The lawsuit also points out that her nomination papers include her Georgia address and that Skinner has written on social media in the past about splitting her time between the states.

Skinner’s campaign told the Wisconsin Examiner that it is not able to provide any comment on the litigation and referred back to comments made by Skinner last week. 

Last week, Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton) called on Skinner to drop her bid for the seat given the concerns about her residency.

“I am a Wisconsin resident. Wisconsin is my home. I was born and raised in Eau Claire and spent much of my career in western Wisconsin. I currently serve as an Eau Claire County Board Supervisor and chair the Lake Altoona Rehabilitation and Protection District,” Skinner said. 

Skinner, a former TV reporter and founder of a recruitment firm, was elected to the Eau Claire County Board in April 2024. She also ran a failed campaign in 2024 challenging state Rep. Jodi Emerson (D-Eau Claire) for her seat in the Wisconsin Assembly. 

Skinner said in a statement that “my husband is a Georgia resident, and a 100% VA disabled veteran — that may be a source of confusion, but is not evidence of any wrongdoing.”

The lawsuit references the statement and cites Wisconsin state statute that says that “when a married person’s family resides at one place and that person’s business is conducted at another place, the former place establishes the residence.”

“Skinner has publicly admitted that her husband is a Georgia resident,” the lawsuit states. “Therefore, the family’s Georgia Home, where her family resides, establishes Skinner’s residence… regardless of any political business Skinner conducts in Wisconsin.”

Skinner said in the same statement that she and her husband asked an independent certified public accountant to review their tax records.

“He found nothing illegal,” Skinner said on Aug. 8. “The accusation that we improperly claimed tax benefits in more than one state is simply false. “The accusation that I ‘cheated taxpayers out of thousands of dollars’ is nothing more than a lie designed to distract voters.”

The lawsuit also argues that her signatures that she gathered for her nomination papers are invalid if she is not a Wisconsin resident. She gathered 470 of the 563 signatures, according to the lawsuit. Wisconsin state law was changed in 2025 to require that signatures be gathered by residents of the state, though that statute is being challenged in court.

The WEC is required to certify the list of candidates to appear on the general election ballot “no later than the 4th Tuesday in August,” which would be Aug. 25. In the lawsuit, the SSDC argues the Court could order Skinner be removed from the ballot as late as Sep. 2.

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