Republican appeals court judge Jeff Hughes is moving up to Louisiana's highest court.
Hughes was the winner Saturday of a runoff election for an open seat on the Louisiana Supreme Court representing the eight-parish Baton Rouge region.
The seat is vacant because Chief Justice Catherine "Kitty" Kimball is retiring at the end of January.
Hughes, a former state District Court judge from Livingston Parish, defeated one of his colleagues for the position: John Michael Guidry, a Democrat and former lawmaker from Baton Rouge.
Hughes broke with the usual approach that many judges take when running for office. Instead of refusing to weigh in on hot-button topics, Hughes branded himself a conservative and touted his beliefs as being "pro-life, pro-gun and pro-traditional marriage."