ICYMI: Wisconsin Republicans Are Not Where They Should Be
MADISON, Wis. — New reports have surfaced exposing Wisconsin Republicans not being where they should be, with some living outside their districts and others not showing up to vote. The Wisconsin Constitution requires that legislators live inside of their district, but recent reports lend serious skepticism as to if Rep. Bob Donovan and Rep. Pat Snyder actually live in the district they represent. Both Donovan and Snyder committed to living inside of their district, and yet both their wives are registered to vote in homes outside of their district.
The second report details that Rep. Shannon Zimmerman missed 225 votes during the last legislative session — including critical votes on immigration policies and increasing working Wisconsinites’ wages.
Heartland Signal: Two Wisconsin lawmakers may be illegally living outside their districts
By: Richard Eberwein | 3/9/26
- Two Wisconsin Republicans may be living outside of their legislative districts and potentially violating state law requiring lawmakers to live within the district they were elected to represent.
- Wisconsin state Rep. Bob Donovan (R-Greenfield) has been a member of the Wisconsin state Assembly since 2023. When the state’s gerrymandered maps were overturned in 2024, Donovan did not seek reelection in his old district and instead announced that he would relocate from his home to run in the 61st district.
[….]
- After winning a tight race against Democratic candidate Lu Ann Bird by just 1,107 votes, Donovan started renting an apartment in the 61st district. Article IV Section 6 of the Wisconsin Constitution requires state legislators to live within the district that they represent after they are elected.
- However, according to records obtained by Heartland Signal, Donovan’s wife Kathleen is still registered to vote at their home in the old district. Donovan’s office did not respond to a series of questions asking if he is currently not living with his wife since he is registered to vote at his apartment.
- Notably, Donovan is still using his old address for financial reports submitted to the Wisconsin Ethics Commission.
[…]
- After the new legislative maps were implemented in 2024, Wisconsin state Rep. Pat Snyder’s (R-Wausau) home was also drawn out of the 85th district, which he has represented since 2017. Snyder decided to run in the same district, and he won by 1,900 votes.
- In October 2024, Snyder told Wisconsin Public Radio that if he won reelection, he and his wife Shawn would move into the apartment in the newly drawn district he was using as a campaign headquarters at the time.
- “I guess that’s part of the politics, getting drawn out (of the district) by about a block and a half,” Snyder said. “They didn’t think I’d move. I’ve heard that from some pretty good sources inside the Democrat Party. They thought that I would stay put in Schofield and run in the 87th (Assembly District).”
- Records viewed by Heartland Signal also show that Shawn Snyder is still registered to vote at the couple’s old home in Schofield, suggesting she still lives there. Pat Snyder is registered to vote at the apartment in the new district.
[…]
- Under current Wisconsin law, any individual who believes an elected official is living outside of their district can file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office. If an investigation finds evidence, cases for elected officials are referred to the presiding officer of the chamber they represent.
Heartland Signal: Report: Wisconsin state Rep. Shannon Zimmerman missed 225 votes last session
By: Richard Eberwein | 3/6/26
- A report from the progressive think tank A Better Wisconsin Together revealed that Wisconsin state Rep. Shannon Zimmerman (R-River Falls) missed 225 votes during the 2025-26 legislative session.
- The report cites videos of sessions recorded by WisconsinEye, the state’s public affairs network, which show that Zimmerman requested a leave of absence and did not show up to sessions on six different occasions.
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- During the most recent JFC meeting on Feb. 3, Zimmerman missed a vote on a $10 million grant to increase funding for mental health services in the western part of the Chippewa Valley region of the state.
- “The nearly sixty-thousand people of the 30th District Rep. Zimmerman is paid to represent deserve to know why they were left without a voice on hundreds of important votes over this session,” said Lucy Ripp, communications director at A Better Wisconsin Together.
[…]
- Zimmerman has served in the Wisconsin Assembly since 2017. Shortly after joining the state Assembly, Zimmerman claimed to have voted in favor of Gov. Scott Walker’s (R) biennial budget bill, but he missed the vote because he was on a business trip in Amsterdam.
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