Shilling chose Copeland Park — also the home field of Kapanke’s La Crosse Loggers baseball team — because it long has been the site for the annual Labor Day picnic to salute union workers.

University of Wisconsin-La Crosse political scientist Joe Heim expects it to be tough election. “She’s probably the toughest candidate out there for Dan,” he said. “I would expect a pretty tight race.”

Kapanke became the target of a recall effort after voting in favor of Gov. Scott Walker’s controversial budget repair law that would strip the majority of state union workers of most collective bargaining rights. The state Government Accountability Board has yet to certify the signatures required to trigger a recall.

Long rumored to be a potential candidate for the 32nd District seat, Shilling has forged a generally cordial working relationship with Kapanke in the past. But the two have opposite positions on the budget repair bill.

Shilling is well known in the city of La Crosse, Heim said. And though Kapanke likely has better name recognition in rural Vernon and Crawford counties, he lost both in his 2010 Congressional bid against Rep. Ron Kind.

Shilling first gained the 95th District Assembly seat in 2000 and won re-election five times, most recently in November with 63 percent of the vote over GOP challenger Nick Charles. Three times she had no opponent on the ballot, though a late write-in campaign was launched in 2008.

Since Shilling already has a campaign committee filed with the state, she can begin spending and taking in donations for the 32nd District run as long as it’s properly documented, GAB attorney Michael Haas said.

Heim predicts the race will also attract plenty of outside spending. And he said the state Supreme Court race could indicate a tough battle for Kapanke. Kloppenburg, the more liberal candidate, carried every county in the 32nd Senate district.