MADISON, Wis. -- State Rep. Scott Jensen took the stand in his misconduct trial on Tuesday to defend himself against charges that he managed a secret campaign machine using state resources at the Capitol.

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Jensen, R-Waukesha, was on the stand for about six hours -- most of the day -- and came across as polite and unflustered, WISC-TV reported. He said that it had been a long-standing tradition for legislative employees to work on campaigns.

Jensen said that he didn't know the campaign activity was going on in his office, but said that he did know about activities in the Assembly Republican Caucus. He said that he thought this was OK because of the way it was explained to him when he was working in the caucus in the 1980s. He said he thought it was fine so long as the printing costs weren't paid by taxpayers.

"We thought we were following the rules the way they've always been," Jensen said. "We didn't see a state resources being consumed."

He also said that he believes state workers are required to take leave to work on campaigns and he left it to other state employees to ensure that happened.

Jensen said that his predecessors ingrained in him the importance of building and maintaining a Republican majority in the Assembly, but that he didn't know his staff carried out that mission by doing campaign work on state time.

Jensen recalled working for Assembly Republicans when current state Supreme Court Justice David Prosser was Assembly speaker. Jensen said that Prosser ordered him to meet with legislators to come up with plans to get them re-elected.

Several times Jensen tried to tell jurors that Democrats were doing the same thing, but Judge Steve Ebert earlier ruled that was irrelevant in the trial. At one point, the judge ordered jurors to disregard a comment that Jensen made, WISC-TV reported.

Jensen faces three felonies for allegedly using his position to direct state-paid staffers to work on campaigns. He's also charged with a misdemeanor, accused of hiring aide Sherry Schultz to work solely on Republican campaigns.

Schultz is on trial with him, charged with one felony count.

Defense witnesses on Monday portrayed Jensen as an honest, big-picture manager who wasn't worried about how his workers did their jobs and who went out of his way to make sure he didn't campaign on state time.

The strategy of Jensen's defense team appears to be that he wasn't aware of what his employees were up to and that the line between campaign activity and state policy work is sometimes vague.

The trial in Dane County Circuit Court is in its third week.

The testimony from others staffers called by the prosecution is quite a contrast. They testified Jensen directed them to work on political campaigns on state time, letting taxpayers cover the tab for the efforts to elect more Republicans to the Assembly.

The case could go to the jury as soon as Thursday.

Jensen is the last of five lawmakers who were charged in 2002 after media reports detailed similar allegations.

The other four legislators -- fellow ex-Republican Reps. Steve Foti and Bonnie Ladwig and former Democratic Sens. Brian Burke and Chuck Chvala -- all struck plea agreements with prosecutors to avoid trials.

Burke and Chvala were sentenced to jail time. Former Assistant Assembly Majority Leader Ladwig is expected to pay $4,500 in fines and restitution, WISC-TV reported.

Foti's deal with prosecutors entailed his pleading to a misdemeanor and the state recommending just 30 days in jail. He has already started a successful career as a lobbyist, WISC-TV reported.

Jensen stepped down as Assembly speaker after he was charged.

NOTE: WISC-TV's Colin Benedict provides behind-the-scenes coverage of the Jensen trial in his new blog.