Voters across western Fond du Lac County and several adjacent central Wisconsin communities are preparing to cast their ballots on November 3 to decide who will represent Wisconsin Assembly District 39 in the state Capitol. The race presents a choice between Republican incumbent Representative Alex Dallman, who is seeking to extend his tenure in Madison, and Democratic challenger Michael Skivington, a local county supervisor and real estate professional.
Assembly District 39 encompasses a diverse rural and small-town constituency. Its boundaries cover western Fond du Lac County, spanning the city of Ripon along with the villages of Rosendale, Brandon, and Fairwater. The district also includes the towns of Ripon, Rosendale, Eldorado, Metomen, Springvale, Lamartine, and Alto. Beyond Fond du Lac County, the legislative seat encompasses all of Green Lake and Marquette counties, while incorporating parts of Adams, Columbia, and Winnebago counties.
The 34-year-old incumbent, Alex Dallman, is a resident of Markesan who has served as the district’s state representative since first winning election to the Assembly in 2020. Dallman, whose primary occupation is working as a state legislator, earned a bachelor’s degree from Edgewood University in 2015. Over the course of his career, he has built ties to numerous regional and political organizations, including past leadership as the chairman of the Green Lake County Republican Party.
In addition to his partisan service, Dallman maintains active involvement in a range of community and civic organizations throughout the district. His background includes memberships in the Green Lake County Farm Bureau, the Berlin Conservation Club, the National Rifle Association, and St. John's Lutheran Church in Markesan. In candidate disclosures, Dallman reported no conflicts of interest and no pending criminal charges or past convictions.
Dallman has centered his campaign on maintaining a conservative rural perspective in state government while continuing to deliver legislative outcomes for his constituents. He emphasizes the importance of safeguarding agriculture and tourism as the foundational economic pillars of the region. His platform includes strong backing for career and technical education programs, tax reduction measures, smaller government footprint, the protection of Second Amendment rights, the preservation of election integrity, and the defense of pro-life principles.
Highlighting his legislative agenda, Dallman outlines community affordability as a primary policy concern. To address economic pressures, the incumbent advocates for reducing state regulations, cutting taxes, and expanding business opportunities across Wisconsin. He points to his prior legislative track record of supporting major tax relief initiatives and infrastructure funding while pushing back against what he describes as unnecessary bureaucracy and excessive government spending in Madison.
Reforming the state’s education financing model constitutes another major pillar of Dallman’s policy platform. He contends that Wisconsin is currently facing a significant property tax crisis, arguing that state leaders must pursue comprehensive reforms to the education funding formula. According to Dallman, restructuring how schools are funded is necessary to ease the heavy financial burdens currently borne by local property taxpayers across the state.
Challenging the incumbent is Michael Skivington, a 57-year-old resident of the Town of Green Lake who operates as an independent real estate agent. Skivington brings prior municipal governance experience to the contest, having served two terms as an elected board supervisor for Green Lake County. Like Dallman, Skivington reported no criminal record, pending legal charges, or potential conflicts of interest.
Skivington boasts a lengthy background in the field of education, having previously worked as a high school teacher for grades nine through twelve as well as a college professor. His extensive academic credentials include a bachelor’s degree in sociology obtained from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in 1997, a master’s degree in education from UW-Oshkosh in 2002, and a doctorate in education earned from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2006.
Alongside his academic and professional background, Skivington is bilingual in English and Spanish and has lived and studied in several foreign countries. Locally, he has been a member of the Federated Church of Green Lake for more than 25 years, serving on its Diaconite Board, assisting as an usher, and participating in community brat fries. Skivington has been married for 36 years to his wife and real estate partner, Carol, with whom he shares two adult children: Claire, an attorney and travel basketball program co-founder, and Spencer, a public school teacher.
Skivington has framed his candidacy around the fundamental value of political competition within the democratic process. He maintains that robust participation and contested elections are indispensable for ensuring that elected officials remain directly responsive to their constituents. In his view, competitive political races ultimately strengthen candidates and create an environment of greater accountability for representatives serving in public office.
As the November 3 general election approaches, voters across Assembly District 39 will weigh Dallman’s legislative tenure and focus on deregulation, lower taxes, and school funding reform against Skivington’s background in education, county government leadership, and commitment to representative accountability. Both candidates have established campaign websites and public outreach channels to present their visions to the district’s electorate ahead of Election Day.
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