LA CROSSE, Wis. (WLCX) – The winner of the race for the judge’s bench in La Crosse County Circuit Court Branch 3 should be familiar to voters.

That’s because Judge Mark Huesmann was already serving in the role after being appointed last summer to fill the vacancy left by Todd Bjerke, who retired.

Huesmann, who was appointed by Gov. Tony Evers, received 56% of the vote in La Crosse County. He defeated Candice Tlustosch, who was previously appointed as an interim judge by former Gov. Scott Walker for Branch 5.

“I’m grateful to the voters of La Crosse County for electing me to a six-year term on the bench,” Huesmann said in a social media post after Tuesday’s election. “Words cannot express my gratitude.”

Huesmann was Bjerke’s court commissioner for 16 years. Before his appointment, he ran his own law office, and was also a professor at UW-La Crosse, where he also served as an attorney advisor for the Student Life Office. He was also a judge on the Coulee Region Joint Municipal Court.

Huesmann received a Bronze Star for his time serving in the Army Reserve in Afghanistan in 2010. He was also one of the people tasked with creating the veterans treatment court in La Crosse and took it over after Bjerke retired.

“As the son of immigrants and a military veteran, I understand hard work and sacrifice and the importance of upholding the rule of law in a fair, compassionate, and even-handed way,” Huesmann said at the time of his appointment.

Huesmann will serve a six-year term, which is standard for circuit court judges in Wisconsin.