MADISON, Wis. — New reporting from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reveals that GOP State senate candidate Michele Magadance Skinner potentially violated state law by claiming residency in both Wisconsin and Georgia in 2025. The report also notes Skinner owns a third property in Florida and has skipped Eau Claire County Board meetings during winter months while serving as Eau Claire County supervisor.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:Republican in key state Senate race claimed residence in two states
By: Zachary Suri | 7/31/26

State Senate candidate Michele Magadance Skinner claimed primary residence in both Wisconsin and Georgia in 2025, public documents reveal.

The Republican Eau Claire County supervisor is challenging incumbent Jeff Smith in the competitive District 31, which includes much of the Chippewa Valley. Skinner is a former local TV reporter who founded a recruitment firm that worked with pharmaceutical and healthcare companies.

The race has attracted heavy spending from both state parties, with control of the state Senate potentially hanging in the balance and Republicans viewing the seat as a possible pickup for the party in November.

The revelation that Skinner claimed primary residency in two states raises thorny legal questions for her campaign.

“The public records raise serious questions that deserve answers,” political attorney Michael Maistelman said. “If inconsistent representations were made to obtain homestead benefits in more than one state, that could have legal and tax consequences in addition to raising questions about the candidate’s residency.”

According to campaign finance reports, Skinner has raised more than $600,000, including nearly $370,000 from the Republican Assembly Campaign Committee, $112,000 from the Committee to Elect a Republican Senate and nearly $80,000 from the state Republican Party.

Smith has raised more than $1.7 million, including more than $486,000 from the State Senate Democratic Committee and more than $53,000 from the state Democratic Party.

“While working families across the Chippewa Valley are struggling to pay for prescription drugs, housing, and healthcare, former big Pharma shill, Michele Magadance Skinner, has been cheating taxpayers out of thousands of dollars a year, claiming residency in two different states at the same time – which is plainly against the law,” Will Karcz, State Senate Democratic Committee communications director, said in a statement.

“The hypocrisy to run for public office while defrauding the very people you’re attempting to serve is nothing short of disqualifying,” Karcz said.

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In 2025, Eau Claire County tax records show Skinner claimed a Lottery and Gaming tax credit worth $186.34 for her Altoona home, a credit she and her husband have claimed since at least 2020. Department of Revenue rules state that Wisconsin residents can only claim this credit on one primary residence.

But in 2025, they also claimed a senior homestead exemption in Dawson County, Georgia, where they own a four bedroom lake house in the town of Dawsonville.

In addition, they claimed an income-based exemption reserved for seniors 75 and older with a household income of $25,000 or less. Property tax records from Dawson County show the couple paid no property taxes on the Dawsonville home in 2025. In June 2025, the property was transferred to a trust in her husband’s name.

Georgia law states that a residence can only be eligible for a homestead exemption if it is “the legal residence and domicile of the applicant for all purposes whatever.”

According to the Dawson County Board of Tax Assessors, “You cannot be claiming homestead at any other location in Dawson County or in any other county or state. If you and your spouse own more than one home, you CANNOT claim multiple exemptions, even if one house is in your name and the other is in your spouse’s name.”

The income-based exemption was also limited to those with primary residence in Dawson County, officials said.

Under Wisconsin’s “false swearing” law, it is a Class H felony to knowingly make a false statement on a legal document. Under Georgia law, it is a misdemeanor to falsely claim a homestead exemption; violators must pay double the taxes owed on the property.

In 2025, the Trump administration accused Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook of a similar offense. They accused Cook of claiming two residences as a primary residence to obtain more favorable loans, a mistake she says was accidental. President Trump then tried to fire Cook for the alleged offense, a move that was blocked by the Supreme Court.

Trump has also attacked absentee voting in Wisconsin. But according to Wisconsin voter records, Skinner voted absentee in Eau Claire County seven times since 2016 and five times in person. Most recently, she voted at the polls in April’s municipal elections.

Skinner and her husband also own a property in Saint Lucie County, Florida now valued at $760,900. Her husband, Robert Skinner, has been actively registered to vote at the Florida address since 2012, when they purchased the property, Florida voting records show.

Wisconsin campaign finance records show he donated to Assembly campaigns in 2023 and 2024 using the Georgia address.

Michele Skinner appears to have posted photos of the Florida property on her Facebook page in 2012 and 2013. A Leader-Telegram article published in 2015 and updated in 2018 describes her as a “current Florida resident.”

Eau Claire County Board minutes show Skinner has not attended a board meeting in person during the winter since she was elected in April 2024. Instead, she has attended Winter board meetings virtually or been recorded as absent.