Two Republican Wisconsin legislators took a steps toward declaring candidacy for the soon-to-be vacant U.S. Senate seat this weekend when they filed papers with the Federal Election Commission to allow them to begin collecting campaign funds.

State Sen. Frank Lasee, R-De Pere, and Rep. Jeff Fitzgerald, R-Horicon, both officially submitted documentation showing beginning intentions to run for Democratic Senator Herb Kohl’s seat.

While Lasee said he officially announced his decision to run for the seat Monday, Fitzgerald is expected to make his official announcement sometime during the week of Oct. 10, his spokesperson, John Jagler, said.

Fitzgerald currently serves as the majority leader in the Wisconsin Assembly.

University of Wisconsin political science professor Barry Burden said there are currently a total of four Republican candidates considering a serious run for the upcoming race: former Gov. Tommy Thompson, former Congressman Mark Neumann, Lasee and Fitzgerald.

Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, District 2, is currently the only Democrat to announce a candidacy for the Senate seat, he said.

Burden said the dominant issue facing each candidate will be job creation. Each Republican candidate will have different visions for creating jobs, he said, from increasing government investment to tax cuts. He said these visions will be affected by whether or not the American Jobs Act is passed and what the congressional “super committee” will propose later this fall.

Lasee said he would try to maintain his energy policy and reduce spending.

“In order to fix the economy, I will create a new energy policy to lower the costs of fuel and electricity, repeal [the] Obama Act which raises the prices of health care for ordinary citizens and to balance the budget without raising taxes,” Lasee said.

He did not specify how he would go about lowering fuel prices.

When asked about the recent performance of Congress in regards to fixing the economy, he said he disapproved of how the Democrats are handling the problem.

Lasee was elected to the state Senate in 2010, he said. Prior to his election, he served for seven terms in the State Assembly and as a chairman for the Town of Ledgeview.

A predicted point of contention in Fitzgerald’s campaign is his heavy involvement in the controversy at the state Capitol last spring concerning Gov. Scott Walker’s collective bargaining legislation. Fitzgerald played a key role in defending the governor and his bill that effectively eliminated collective bargaining for public employees.

– The Associated Press contributed to this story.