MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin's two U.S. senators are forwarding three candidates to the White House to fill the open federal judicial seat in the Western District.

The candidates, Michael Fitzpatrick, James Peterson, and John Vaudreuil, are among those recommended by a bipartisan Federal Nominating Commission established by the two senators, Republican Ron Johnson and Democrat Tammy Baldwin.

Fitzpatrick is a Rock County Circuit Court judge and serves on the Wisconsin State Bar Professional Ethics Committee.

Peterson works in the Madison office of Godfrey & Kahn. He's president of the Western District of Wisconsin Bar Association and has served on its board of governors.

Vaudreuil has served as the U.S. attorney for the Western District for three years. The Rice Lake native was first appointed as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Western District in 1980.