State Assembly After representing the district since 2011, representative Dean Knudson decided not to seek re-election, leaving the district open. In the race, Zimmerman ran for the nomination against local
Hudson-based insurance agent Paul Berning. In the general election, Zimmerman defeated Democrat Scott Nelson and Independent Aaron Taylor. After his election, Zimmerman drew criticism after comments he made in a 2013 UWRF School of Business & Economics lecture resurfaced where he was asked what language was the most challenging to translate, with Zimmerman responding "it's woman, right? (Citing the book 'Men are from Mars, Women from Venus') Sometimes she says this, but she means this." With Zimmerman playing his remarks off as a joke. During Zimmerman's 2020 re-election campaign complaints were submitted to the
Wisconsin Elections Commission alleging he did not reside in the district he represented, and had falsely claimed his residency. These complaints drew on the fact Zimmerman had two residencies, one in Clifton, Wisconsin, that he maintained for tax purposes, and a residency in River Falls, Wisconsin, that he maintained for voting purposes, with the complaint alleging he did not live in the latter property. Eventually, the complaint was rejected by the WEC after a 4-2 vote, saying there was "no reasonable suspicion" that Zimmerman had violated the law. In 2024 Wisconsin saw a significant redrawing of the state legislative maps which undid the Republican gerrymander that had been created back in 2011. Zimmerman's district was redrawn to be similar to the borders prior to the 2021 redistricting, centering around the cities of Hudson and River Falls, as opposed to moving the two cities into in their own districts. Under the new lines, the 30th Assembly district was projected to be one of the most competitive districts in the state assembly. Zimmerman defeated Democrat Alison Page, a former healthcare executive, in the general election by an 8-point margin.
State Senate special election In 2018, after accepting a position within the
Scott Walker administration,
Sheila Harsdorf resigned her seat in the
Wisconsin Senate to become Wisconsin's
Secretary of Agriculture. With this open district, Zimmerman announced his candidacy for the special election for the district. During the campaign he largely self-funded, outspending his opponent
Adam Jarchow two-to-one. Additionally, Zimmerman differentiated himself from Jarchow due to his support for the
Foxconn deal, claiming during the campaign that Jarchow had opposed the deal and stood in opposition to then governor
Scott Walker. In the primary, Zimmerman was defeated by Jarchow by a 12 point margin. == Personal life ==