Cantor-backed candidate breezes past Tea Party favorite in North Carolina primary

Establishment favorite and former Capitol Hill Chief of Staff Richard Hudson (R) easily dispatched Tea Party favorite Scott Keadle (R) in a House primary runoff Tuesday night, setting up what will likely be a hard-fought general election against Rep. Larry Kissell (D-N.C.).

Hudson won with nearly two-thirds of the vote.

He had the backing of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), as well as the center-right outside group American Action Network and YG Action Fund, a super-PAC closely aligned with Cantor's interests. The two groups combined to spend almost $600,000 on the runoff.

Keadle struggled to gain traction despite more than $250,000 in air support from the fiscally conservative Club for Growth.

Hudson will now face Kissell, one of Republicans' top targets this cycle. His district was made much more GOP-leaning in redistricting — it would have given Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) a 15-point margin under the new lines.

In other North Carolina runoffs, real estate investor Mark Meadows won the GOP runoff in retiring Rep. Heath Shuler's (D-N.C.) western North Carolina seat. The district was redrawn to become the most Republican in the state, and while Shuler remains popular there and his former chief of staff is running, the race leans strongly Republican.

Former state Sen. Robert Pittenger (R) also win his primary runoff, and is all but a lock to replace retiring Rep. Sue Myrick (R-N.C.) in a safely Republican seat.

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