Shelley Moore Capito Primary: Republican Rep Wins Party Nomination For Senate

Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R) has won her party's nomination to fight to represent West Virginia in the U.S. Senate, the Associated Press reports.

Capito will face the Democratic nominee in the general election.

Below, more from The Associated Press:

She easily defeated Larry Eugene Butcher and Matthew Dodrill Tuesday to be the GOP nominee. She is running for the seat being left vacant by retiring Democratic Sen. Jay Rockefeller.

The 60-year-old Capito has built a 4-to-1 cash advantage over her likely Democratic opponent, Secretary of State Natalie Tennant.

In the primary, Capito avoided a tea party-fueled challenge from the right, despite less-than-enthusiastic reviews of her voting record by well-funded conservative groups.

Her most viable conservative challenger, former Republican state House delegate Pat McGeehan, struggled to raise money and ended his campaign in January

West Virginia has never elected a female senator and hasn't sent a Republican to the Senate since the 1950s.