Cornyn, Sessions fight off Tea Party challengers in Texas GOP primary

AUSTIN, Texas, March 5 (UPI) -- Sen. John Cornyn and Rep. Pete Sessions handily beat back challenges from Tea Party competitors in their Republican primary races in Texas.

Cornyn defeated Rep. Steve Stockman's challenge by more than 40 percentage points, while Pete Sessions walloped local Tea Party leader Katrina Pierson by a two-to-one margin, the Hill reported Wednesday.

Rep. Ralph Hall, Congress's oldest member at age 90 and a 17-term incumbent, was forced into a runoff race by former U.S. Attorney John Ratcliffe, who ran to Hall's right. A candidate must get more than half of the total vote to win a party's nomination.

In another contested GOP primary, Houston lawmaker and radio host Dan Patrick rode the anti-incumbency wave to top incumbent David Dewhurst in the lieutenant governor's race Tuesday, even though the two will meet in a May 27 runoff, the Dallas Morning News reported.

In the party primaries for gubernatorial candidates, voters propelled Republican Attorney General Greg Abbott, a Republican, and state Sen. Wendy Davis of Fort Worth, a Democrat, toward their showdown to succeed Gov. Rick Perry, who is stepping down after 14 years.