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Charlotte, North Carolina (CNN) -- Republicans avoided a major headache on Tuesday night when Thom Tillis, the North Carolina house speaker and establishment favorite, won the Republican Senate nomination outright, dodging a protracted summer runoff fight against a grassroots-backed opponent.

With an assist from big-spending outside groups, Tillis dispatched his two main primary rivals, tea party-backed Greg Brannon and the Baptist pastor Mark Harris, with relative ease, clearing the 40% mark needed to skirt a July runoff election.

Tillis moves on to face Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan, one of the Senate's most endangered incumbents, in what's certain to be among the most negative -- and expensive -- races of 2014.

2014 midterms: Six factors between now and election day

But that wasn't the only story line unfolding on Tuesday. Here are five takeaways from primary night in North Carolina.

1. Republican establishment passes early test: The GOP establishment that galaxy of Washington-based political operatives, national party committees and business groups who care first and foremost about winning promised early on that they wouldn't let controversial candidates jeopardize their chances of re-taking the Senate this year.

North Carolina was the first test in their mission to make sure that no Todd Akins, Christine O'Donnells or Richard Mourdocks would be on the Senate ballot in 2014.

The Chamber of Commerce and the Karl Rove-backed American Crossroads spent north of $2 million propping up state House Speaker Thom Tillis when the candidate himself lacked the resources to go on statewide television. A few weeks ago, most Republicans in North Carolina were predicting that Tillis would not be able to break 40% of the vote, thereby forcing a July runoff election. But with the help of outside spending, a largely error-free campaign and the inability of his underfunded grassroots challengers to land a punch, Tillis surged late and cleared the runoff hurdle easily. Republicans are breathing easier, confident they have the candidate with the best shot to beat Democrat Hagan.

Key races to watch in 2014

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Republicans avoid big headache

Republicans have no intention of listening to Trey Gowdy.

A number of Republican candidates and conservative groups have openly used the Sept. 11, 2012, attacks in Benghazi, Libya, as a cash grab. And thats likely to continue despite a strongly worded rebuke from the new chairman of the Republican select committee assigned to investigate the response to the attacks.

Gowdy, a South Carolina Republican, commented on MSNBC Wednesday that he and fellow Republicans should not fundraise off the backs of four murdered Americans creating a new standard by which the party can be judged and opening the GOP up to charges of past, present and future hypocrisy.

(Also on POLITICO: Behind the Benghazi select committee)

Thats put the party in an awkward spot. Republicans on Capitol Hill are eager to lend the looming committee investigation into the murder of four Americans an air of sobriety, dignity and seriousness. But political strategists are eager to mobilize the GOP base and amp up grassroots fundraising by capitalizing on the bases outrage over how the Obama administration handled the attacks.

The 2012 consulate attack and accusations of a White House cover-up are catnip for grassroots donors and activists. And Benghazi and the select committee assigned to investigate it is a key part of the GOP fundraising and mobilization strategy. This week, the National Republican Congressional Committee rolled out a new fundraising campaign called Benghazi Watchdogs an effort by the aiming to raise money off Gowdys new position. Publicly available domain registration data shows that the site was registered Tuesday.

Other fundraising solicitations about Benghazi include:

Brad Dayspring, a spokesman for the NRSC, said that there hasnt been a coordinated effort from the committee to fundraise off of the issue, even though his committee wrote a blog post with a fundraising solicitation about the hearings.

Part of politics is fundraising. I think fundraising is a separate activity than calling attention to important issues, he said in an interview. Benghazi is going to be a topic of discussion because it deserves answers, and I think its important for both candidates and elected officials to discuss it.

(Also on POLITICO: Nancy Pelosi leaning toward boycotting Benghazi panel)

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Republicans stick with Benghazi cash grab

Senate Republicans want to vote on energy proposals that could bolster their partys candidates in the November election.

Their problem: Majority Leader Harry Reid wont let them.

Mitch McConnell, the top Senate Republican, is pressing for a vote to help Kentuckys struggling coal industry just two weeks before his Republican primary contest. Hes trying to bar the Environmental Protection Agency from issuing new carbon standards for U.S. power plants, a step that may shutter plants in his home state.

Coal is something that the senator wants to use to localize a national issue, said Nathan Gonzales, deputy editor of the Rothenberg Political Report. Incumbents are saddled with the negatives of incumbency. They have to try to find a way to leverage their office into a campaign positive.

Republicans have accused President Barack Obama and his administration of waging a war on coal. McConnells proposal is among changes Republicans want to a bill promoting energy-efficient buildings as they seek to rein in the EPA or boost domestic energy production.

Reid, a Nevada Democrat, has said he wont allow any amendments.

Instead, hes promised a separate vote on whether to force approval of TransCanada Corp.s Keystone XL pipeline as way to entice Republicans to help advance the energy-efficiency bill.

McConnell, who faces Louisville businessman Matt Bevin in the states May 20 Senate primary, has made his support for eastern Kentuckys coal industry a central theme of his bid for a sixth term.

Kentuckians in the eastern part of my state are experiencing a depression that the presidents energy policies are making worse, McConnell said today on the Senate floor. Coal is a vital industry to our economy and to the livelihoods of thousands of people in my state. We should be allowed to help them. But the majority leader said no.

If he beats Bevin this month, McConnell will face Democratic Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes in the general election. His campaign is gearing up to link Grimes to Obamas energy policy, though Grimes has been a critic of the administrations approach to coal.

See the article here:
Senate Republicans Seek Electoral Gain on Energy Bill

FILE: Outgoing HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius testifies.AP

Republicans are fuming after outgoing Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius declined to testify on her own departments 2015 budget request before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Wednesday.

According to Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., the secretary skipped the hearing not due to a scheduling problem, but because "she doesn't want to" testify.

"Her absence speaks volumes about transparency," Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., said, adding he was "astonished, absolutely blown away that she is not here today."

Sebelius absence was unusual as heads of departments typically speak at such hearings to defend their agencys budget requests. In her place, leaders from each department of HHS testified on their specific budget allocations.

Several Republicans used their time during the hearing to blast Sebelius for not attending.

The subcommittee chairman, Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said at the hearing he never formally asked Sebelius personally to appear, and in his view it makes sense she would not testify as she will not be here for the next fiscal year. However, he noted that the nominee to replace her, OMB director Sylvia Matthews Burwell, has not yet been confirmed, leaving the hearing in "limbo."

But the subcommittee's ranking member, Sen. Jerry Moran, said he was disappointed Sebelius did not appear, saying it is the first time he or his colleagues can remember a department head not showing up to one of these hearings.

Moran, R-Kan., said lawmakers worked with Sebelius to try and accommodate her schedule but she still said she wouldnt appear. He said in his view, Sebelius "refused" to testify.

"I want to make clear from my perspective that the committee is deserving of an appearance from the secretary," he said.

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Republicans fuming as Sebelius skips hearing on HHS budget

North Carolina House Speaker Thom Tillis captured the Republican nomination in North Carolina's senate race. Other mainline Republicans in three states also held out against tea party challengers.

North Carolina House Speaker Thom Tillis captured the Republican nomination to oppose imperiled Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan Tuesday night, overcoming anti-establishment rivals by a comfortable margin in the first of a springtime spate of primaries testing the strength of a tea party movement that first rocked the GOP four years ago.

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In Ohio, Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald won the Democratic nomination to challenge Gov. John Kasich in the fall. US House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican, rolled to re-nomination for another term in Congress, his 13th.

On a night that was kind to Republican incumbents in three states, GOP Rep. Susan Brooks of Indiana easily fended off a challenge from the right, rolling up 75 percent of the votes in a three-way race. First-term Rep. David Joyce of Ohio had a slightly tougher time but was running well ahead of his tea party rival.

Anti-war Republican Rep. Walter Jones defeated his challenger in North Carolina.

In North Carolina, Tillis was winning about 45 percent of the vote with ballots counted in 72 percent of the state's precincts, easily surpassing the 40 percent needed to avoid a July runoff. Greg Brannon was trailing despite support from tea party favorite Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, and Mark Harris, a Baptist pastor, was third.

Also in North Carolina, former "American Idol" runner-up Clay Aiken had a narrow lead as he sought the Democratic nomination to oppose Republican Rep. Renee Ellmers in the fall. A Democratic runoff was possible.

Democratic State Rep. Alma Adams was comfortably ahead for a pair of nominations at the same time: in a special election to fill the unexpired term of former Rep. Mel Watt, and also for the November ballot in the heavily Democratic district.

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Primary roundup: Establishment Republicans defeat tea party primary challengers