The possibility of unseating current lawmakers in the Senate became that much more real over the weekend as one candidate announced her plans to run against a senator in a recall election, while another challenger is expected to publicize her campaign Wednesday.

Just eight days after petitions to recall Sen. Dan Kapanke were filed with the Government Accountability Board, Democratic Rep. Jennifer Shilling, representing La Crosse residents since elected to the Assembly in 2000, said she would be challenging Kapanke in a special election later this year.

Shilling invoked La Crosse’s local moniker in a statement criticizing Kapanke for toeing his party’s line despite the outpouring of protest surrounding the budget repair bill that would limit public employee collective bargaining rights.

“When the working families of the Coulee Region needed Senator Kapanke the most, he turned his back on them,” Shilling said in a statement. “Senator Kapanke stopped listening to the people he was elected to serve, and it’s time to move in a new direction.”

She added she would stand up to the governor and put the government back on the side of the worker.

The Democratic Party of Wisconsin and volunteers collected 21,700 signatures from Kapanke’s constituents, well above the roughly 15,000 signatures needed for a recall election, DPW spokesperson Graeme Zielinski said.

Kapanke’s office did not return calls for comment.

On the other side of the state, Oshkosh’s Deputy Mayor Jessica King is expected to announce her campaign Wednesday to challenge Sen. Randy Hopper, R-Fond du Lac, in a special recall election.

King ran against Hopper for the 18th District Senate seat in 2008. Hopper won by only 184 votes.

The petition to recall Hopper filed April 7 had 22,500 signatures, which surpassed the number required by the GAB. Despite the clear sign of constituent displeasure, Hopper’s campaign manager Ted Harvey remained confident the incumbent would retain his spot in the Senate and said Hopper still felt his vote to limit union bargaining rights would put Wisconsin in a better position.

Volunteers and members of Hopper’s campaign have been going door to door and making calls within his district in preparation, Harvey added.

– Andrew Averill contributed to this report.