Madison County has a new judge-elect, and not only is she the first woman to take the bench there, but she is also a rare write-in candidate winner.

Rhonda Youngs ran a unique campaign, beating former Madison County Assistant District Attorney Bradley Moses after he lost the endorsement of Republicans.

“I’m very proud to be the first female elected here in Madison County," Youngs said. "I have two daughters. I hope that it serves for them and for others that you can achieve any goal that you set your mind to.”

Youngs is a judge in her hometown of the village of Cazenovia and the principle law clerk to Madison County Supreme Court Justice Patrick O’Sullivan. She said integrity in the court system matters, and believes she can get the job done.

“I was approached by many different people, from all spectrums, really, throughout Madison County to run," she said. "They knew that my qualifications were well-suited for this position. They knew that I was interested in the position. I knew that with the support of so many from the community, that I really believed that we could be successful with it, even though it was too late to get my name on the ballot and that was a huge hurdle to overcome.”

Moses was running for the seat unopposed. Because the deadline had passed to get her name on the ballot, Youngs’ campaign was focused heavily on asking people to write her name on the ballot.

“And I was going door-to-door every day. I was very optimistic when I was going door-to-door because they were so enthused about having somebody with those qualifications,” Youngs said.

Youngs had the support of all three political parties, and when it came to Election Day, 17,000 people wrote her name in on the ballot. 

“It's really amazing to me. I’m still in awe of that,” Youngs said.

Youngs will be sworn in in January and serve as a Madison County judge for the next 10 years.