Retired radiologist announces bid for state senate seat
A retired radiologist recently announced she’s running for a Wisconsin Senate seat with the hopes of bolstering healthcare affordability and bringing more jobs to the state.
Democrat Gillian Battino, MD, officially announced her bid in Wisconsin’s 29th District after previously running for a U.S. Senate spot in 2021. The former Wausau radiologist ultimately dropped out of that race in February 2022, instead seeking a position as state treasurer (which later went to Republican John Leiber).
Dr. Battino now is looking to unseat GOP incumbent and recycling businessman Sen. Cory Tomczyk, who was elected in 2022. The radiologist said she is running because “hard working families cannot make ends meet and young people are losing hope.”
She claims the current senator is “lost in partisan politics while the community her family calls home is at risk.” Her priorities include bringing more jobs to Wisconsin, making health and childcare more affordable, investing in public schools, and ensuring clean air and water.
“For too long, the voices of our small towns and rural communities have been passed over in Madison,” Battino said in a statement Nov. 11. “I’m running to bring a practical, solutions-oriented approach to the challenges we face.”
Battino spent over 20 years as a breast imaging specialist, with much of that time dedicated to Rad-Aid International, a nonprofit that brings radiology technology, services and education to low-resource regions. She was crucial in developing Guyana’s first diagnostic imaging residency while building its CT and breast cancer screening programs, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported in 2021.
Battino is from the central Wisconsin community of Wausau, has six kids, and spent over a decade working in Marshfield, 44 miles southwest. Born in Athens, Ohio, she earned her graduate degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and her MD from Ohio State. She served as the director of Rad-Aid Latin America, and helped found the UW-Madison chapter of the nonprofit.
Wisconsin Senate Democratic Leader Dianne Hesselbein has endorsed Battino in the race, which will be decided in November 2026.
“Gillian’s service to her community represents the kind of servant leadership that Wisconsinites need,” Hesselbein said in a statement. “Her expertise in healthcare will be an invaluable asset in Senate Democrats’ efforts to build a healthcare system that provides accessible and affordable healthcare for every Wisconsinite.”
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.