The Eye

Kapanke began his political career when was elected as chairman of the town of Campbell in 1997. He was first elected to the state Senate in 2004 and was re-elected in 2008.

The former district sales manager for a seed company, Kapanke is the owner of the La Crosse Loggers baseball team. It is an affiliate of the Northwoods League, made up of teams of college players who want to play summer ball while preserving their unpaid amateur status.

Calling himself a "grass-roots type of guy," Kapanke said that he is about "service to people," and that his bid would offer voters an alternative to the incumbent. Though Kapanke said he fully understands though that his bid "won't be a walk in the park," he is confident that he has a chance to win based on voters' familiarity with his tenure as a state lawmaker.

But Kapanke has a chore in establishing himself as a highly competitive candidate against Kind. The incumbent was re-elected in 2008 with 63 percent of the vote over Republican Paul Stark. And he did so in a western Wisconsin district -- which includes Eau Claire as well as LaCrosse -- that gave 58 percent of its presidential vote to Democrat Barack Obama.

Kind also has a financial cushion against a tougher-than-usual challenge, as he reported more than $866,000 in campaign cash on hand as of March 31.

-- Jessica Benton Cooney