State Sen. Dan Kapanke (R) announced last week that he plans to challenge Rep. Ron Kind (D) next year, a move that could produce the seven-term Democrat’s most competitive re-election race to date.

Kapanke, a second-term state Senator, filed paperwork last week to run in the Democratic-leaning 3rd district.

Meanwhile, Democrats have charged that Kapanke has used state resources to help lay the groundwork for his Congressional campaign. But Kapanke has said that the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board has vindicated him and that he has proved that he properly separated the activities of his campaign and state offices.

Kind was first elected in 1996, and he has not faced a difficult re-election race since then. The southwestern district narrowly voted for Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) in the 2004 presidential race, but President Barack Obama won with a solid 58 percent in the 2008 presidential vote.