State Rep. Jennifer Shilling, D-LaCrosse, will challenge state Sen. Dan Kapanke, R-LaCrosse, in his upcoming recall election.
Campaigners in his district collected over 20,000 signatures over the course of one month asking for his recall, and the Government Accountability Board is in the process of verifying all the signatures.
In her announcement, Shilling criticized Kapanke for his vote in support of Gov. Scott Walker's budget repair law.
""When the working families of the Coulee region needed Senator Kapanke the most, he turned his back on them,"" Shilling said. ""Senator Kapanke stopped listening to the people he was elected to serve, and it's time to move in a new direction.""
However, Kapanke defended his vote for the controversial law.
""My constituents sent me to Madison to restore fiscal sanity and get our state spending under control,"" he said. ""When it comes to balancing our budget without raising taxes, I will stand up and take that vote every time.""
If the signatures are verified, Kapanke will be the first of 16 state senators currently facing recall petitions that would result in a special election, though others could soon join him.
A petition against state Sen. Randy Hopper, R-Fond du Lac, containing the necessary amount of signatures was submitted Thursday while campaigns against state Sens. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, and David Hansen, D-Green Bay, are also gaining traction because of constituent frustration over their handling of the budget repair law.
—Ariel Shapiro
