MADISON, Wis. -- Unofficial results from a statewide recount show the conservative candidate for state Supreme Court won re-election.

READ: State Supreme Court Recount Costs At Least $260,000

The numbers show incumbent Justice David Prosser has defeated challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg in a race that became as much about Republican Gov. Scott Walker's collective bargaining bill as the state Supreme Court.

The recount began on April 27 and finally ended on Friday afternoon. It found Prosser had 752,697 votes compared with Kloppenburg's 745,691.

Kloppenburg's campaign got a boost after her supporters worked to link the conservative Prosser to Walker, hoping to capitalize on outrage over the governor's plan to strip public workers of nearly all their collective bargaining rights.

Initial results from the April 5 election showed Kloppenburg had narrowly defeated Prosser, but the Waukesha County clerk announced days later she had failed to report 14,000 votes, flipping the race for Prosser.

Waukesha County officials finished recounting votes from the Supreme Court race a week ahead of its deadline. Waukesha County was the last county to finish after a Dane County judge gave it a nearly three-week deadline extension.

The Supreme Court race became a hot topic this spring after weeks of protests around the state Capitol regarding a controversial bill that would strip a majority of state workers of most of their collective bargaining rights.

Most political watchers expect the bill to become a major issue for the court to take up.

While Prosser had been a Republican when he served in the state Legislature, the Supreme Court race was officially nonpartisan.

Stay tuned to WISC-TV and Channel 3000 for continuing coverage.