MADISON – State Sen. Kathleen Vinehout of Alma Monday added her name to a crowded Democratic field seeking to challenge GOP Gov. Scott Walker next year.

A spokesman for Vinehout confirmed she would not seek re-election to her Senate seat next year, meaning Democrats will have a challenging race to hold onto the 31st Senate District next year.

Already in the governor's race: state schools superintendent Tony Evers; Milwaukee businessman Andy Gronik; state Rep. Dana Wachs of Eau Claire; and activist Mike McCabe. The August 2018 primary will determine who will face Walker that November.

In a statement, Vinehout said she was running for governor "to turn the state's priorities upside down," saying Walker and Republican lawmakers have given too much to corporations and too little to schools and local governments. She cited the up to $3 billion incentive package that Walker negotiated with Foxconn Technology Group to bring a flat screen plant and thousands of jobs to Racine County.

“When looking to build, relocate or expand in a state, company after company emphasizes they look for good schools, skilled workers, a transportation network, safe streets, efficient local services, clean air and water, recreation opportunities, and cultural amenities," Vinehout said. "That is where we should be spending the public’s tax dollars.”

RELATED:PolitiFact Wisconsin Kathleen Vinehout file

Vinehout worked as both a college professor and a dairy farmer and was first elected to the Senate in 2006.

Vinehout, who announced her campaign in Black River Falls Monday, ran unsuccessfully for governor in the 2012 Democratic primary during the failed recall election that year against Walker.

State Republican Party spokesman Alec Zimmerman noted that Vinehout was one of the 14 senators who drove to Illinois in 2011 in an unsuccessful attempt to block a vote on Walker's repeal of most collective bargaining for most public workers.

Vinehout also supported unsuccessful legislation in 2007 that would have raised taxes by roughly $15 billion in exchange for making health care available to everyone in the state. Zimmerman said that Vinehout wants to "take us backwards to the days when she authored the largest tax increase in state history."

The Democratic primary could get more crowded. Other potential candidates include Milwaukee attorney and former state party chairman Matt Flynn, Madison Mayor Paul Soglin and former state Rep. Kelda Helen Roys of Madison.