Alabama GOP lawmakers fend off primary challengers

Two House Republicans facing tough intraparty primary races in Alabama successfully fended off their challengers on Tuesday.

Reps. Martha Roby and Bradley Byrne both are projected to win with more than 60 percent of the vote in their districts, according to The Associated Press.

They needed to secure at least 50.1 percent in order to avoid runoff elections in April.

{mosads}Roby, who was elected as part of the Tea Party wave in 2010, faced two primary challengers this cycle. Tea Party activist Becky Gerritson won about 30 percent of the vote, while electrician Bob Rogers won 6 percent.

Byrne, meanwhile, easily fended off businessman Dean Young in a rematch of a 2013 special election. The second-term lawmaker narrowly defeated Young in a runoff at the time.

Incumbent House GOP lawmakers in Texas, which also held its primaries on Super Tuesday, overwhelmingly prevailed, too.

Multiple veteran Texas Republicans who faced primary challengers successfully held them off. House Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions and House Science Committee Chairman Lamar Smith both managed to avoid runoffs.