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WASHINGTON (AP) - Tea party-favorite Ben Sasse seized an early lead on Tuesday in Nebraska's Republican primary for the U.S. Senate, outpacing a wealthy banker and the establishment-backed candidate in a race that highlighted the fissures within the GOP.

With 4 percent of precincts reporting, Sasse, the president of Midland University, had 44 percent of the vote to 25 percent for Sid Dinsdale and 22 percent for Shane Osborn.

The tea party, outside conservative groups and two of the right's heroes - Sarah Palin and Sen. Ted Cruz - had rallied behind Sasse. For months, he was locked in an increasingly negative race with former State Treasurer Osborn, who had the backing of the Washington establishment and allies of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

Dinsdale, the president of Pinnacle Bank, sought to capitalize on the Sasse-Osborn fight and produce a surprise outcome similar to Republican Sen. Deb Fischer's come-from-behind win in 2012.

Voters in Nebraska and West Virginia were deciding their lineups for the November elections in the latest round of spring primaries. The fall midterms will determine control of Congress for the last two years of President Barack Obama's second term, with Republicans expected to hold the House and cautiously optimistic about winning control of the Senate.

The GOP needs to net six seats to grab the majority

In West Virginia, Republican Rep. Shelley Moore Capito and Democrat Natalie Tennant cruised to primary wins, setting the stage for a historic U.S. Senate showdown in November that will give West Virginia its first female senator.

Capito, a seven-term congresswoman and daughter of former Gov. Arch Moore, and Tennant, the state's secretary of state, will square off to replace Democratic Sen. Jay Rockefeller, who is retiring after 30 years.

West Virginia has become increasingly Republican, and Capito enters the general election contest as the heavy favorite. If elected, she would be the first Republican senator from West Virginia since 1959.

In Nebraska, Sasse had the backing of Club for Growth, the Tea Party Patriots, the Senate Conservatives Fund and FreedomWorks in his bid to replace Republican Sen. Mike Johanns, who is retiring after a single six-year term.

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Tea party favorite grabs lead in Nebraska - NBC40.net

A Tea Party-backed Senate candidate was locked Tuesday in a heated GOP primary battle in Nebraska, where his chief rival is sharply challenging his conservative credentials and a dark horse candidate aims for a come-from-behind surprise.

Ben Sasse, the president of Midland University, has steadily gained the backing of some of the most influential conservative groups and figures as he vies for the seat left by retiring Republican Sen. Mike Johanns.

Sporadic polling has shown Sasse in the lead, giving his Tea Party backers hope as the movement struggles to gain traction this year in the primaries. But primary rival, former state treasurer Shane Osborn, is looking to blunt that momentum in Tuesday's race. Osborn has the backing of allies of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and has run an aggressive campaign.

Further scrambling the race, another candidate -- Pinnacle Bank President Sid Dinsdale -- has sought to capitalize on the Sasse-Osborn fight and appears to be climbing in the polls, making for an unpredictable election night.

In recent weeks, big names have gravitated to Sasse's side, including Sarah Palin and Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. Sasse also has the backing of the Club for Growth, the Tea Party Patriots, the Senate Conservatives Fund and FreedomWorks.

Sasse has focused on his conservative credentials, opposition to abortion, support for gun rights and goal of repealing and replacing the health care law.

In one 30-second ad, Sasse's two young daughters, Alex and Corrie, talk about how much their dad opposes the Affordable Care Act. "He wants to destroy it," says one daughter. "He despises it," says the other.

However, Sasse advised former Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt's firm as the group reached out to businesses and organizations in 2010 to explain and implement the new law. Osborn recently began running a 30-second TV ad linking Sasse to writings and speeches from several years earlier commenting on elements that would become part of the law firmly opposed by most Republicans.

Outside groups and the candidates have spent millions on the race in which the GOP winner is widely expected to prevail in November. The National Republican Senatorial Committee, the party's campaign operation, has remained neutral.

Trial lawyer Dave Domina faces Larry Marvin in the Democratic primary.

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Tea Party candidate in heated primary for Neb. Senate- FOX NEWS FIRST: GOP civil war or quality control?

Whoever wins the Republican Senate primary in Nebraska on Tuesday is likely to win in November, and the national tea party establishment wants that seat. But the campaign has been nasty, and a third candidate is surging.

Washingtons tea party establishment has big hopes for Tuesdaysprimariesin Nebraska, one of the movements best chances at winning a US Senate seat this cycle.

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The nationally backed tea party candidate is Ben Sasse, a university president and former Bush administration official. For weeks, he and former state Treasurer Shane Osborn have been duking it out for the Republican nomination for the seat currently held by retiring Sen. Mike Johanns (R).

But a third candidate banker Sid Dinsdale is surging, and political analysts are asking: Will history repeat itself?

Youve had a lot of outside money pour into the race, and a lot has shown up in attacks on Osborn or Sasse, says Kevin Smith, chairman of the political science department at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. That has let a candidate like Dinsdale fly under the radar and start picking up momentum.

Nebraska has seen this movie before. In 2012, two heavyweights duked it out for that cycles GOP Senate nomination, allowing a dark horse a rancher and state legislator named Deb Fischer to grab the nomination from the two men. She is now Senator Fischer.

Mr. Dinsdale certainly hopes hes the Fischer of 2014, though he's not a tea party candidate and he wont get Sarah Palins endorsement, as Fischer did two years ago. This year, the former Alaska governor is on board for Mr. Sasse, as are Senate conservative stars Ted Cruz of Texas, Rand Paul of Kentucky, and Mike Lee of Utah. Conservative Washington groups FreedomWorks, Club for Growth, and Senate Conservatives Fund are also in Sasses corner with organization and ads.

Now the outside groups are turning their fire on Dinsdale, a sign that hes moving up in the polls, says Senator Johanns, who has not endorsed anyone in the race.

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Tea party hoping for big win in Nebraska primary, but dark horse looms (+video)

May 13, 2014 3:00am

Another Tuesday, another Primary Day as Nebraska and West Virginia voters go to the polls today.

The key race today is the GOP Senate primary in Nebraska and it is the tea partys best shot at victory, but its not exactly a clear tea party vs. establishment brawl as we saw last week in North Carolina. Of course, it is still a brawl, a three-way fight that has seen outside money pouring in and big name endorsements all around. There is also agubernatorial race in that state that sees a re-match of sorts as well as a seven way battle in West Virginia.Here are the top primary races being held today and why they matter:

TEA PARTYS BEST CHANCE AT VICTORY:

As mentioned above, the Senate GOP primary in Nebraska is todays key race to replace retiring Sen. Mike Johanns and its one of if not the best shot for victory for the tea party in this election cycle. But the tea party candidate, Midland University President Ben Sasse, backed by both Sarah Palin and Ted Cruz, is not your typical anti-establishment choice. Sasse seems to have the momentum, but hes facing off against two candidates in a three-way battle that could really go in any direction. Pinnacle Bank Chairman Sid Dinsdale, who has partially self-funded his campaign, was seen until recently as the other candidate to Sasse and State Treasurer Shane Osborn, but he has seen a recent surge of momentum as Sasse and Osborn have entered in to an ugly intra-party civil war with money on both sides pouring in and paying for nasty ads.

Its allowed the candidates to try and stay above the fighting, but could be helping Dinsdale if it turns off voters. If it sounds familiar this is exactly what happened in 2012 when Deb Fischer surged from outsider status to victor.

WHY IT MATTERS:

Sasse may not be exactly a tea partier, though. He has previously worked in D.C., and has also been endorsed by both Paul Ryan and the National Review, elevating his profile in more establishment circles. Of course if he wins today it will be seen as a huge win for the tea party movement, whether he is your typical tea partier or not.

Aides like to describe him more as a Ryan-style conservative. His ads, though, have been focused squarely on Obamacare and outside groups like the Club for Growth, Senate Conservatives Fund (SCF), and the Madison Project have all thrown money into the race. And Osborn has been endorsed by some local tea party groups, as well as more establishment-aligned groups like a super PAC with ties to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell that has put money in targeting Sasse. The two had a high-profile blow-up in November when McConnell reportedly lit into Sasse for working with SCF, who is trying to oust McConnell and other incumbents.

Osborn actually hit Sasse on his Obamacare stance, but used an editorial that the newspaper says was taken out of context. Sasse has been attacked over his out-of-state support and a recent ad touted his Nebraska backers, including former Gov. Kay Orr. If there is any question whether Dinsdales late surge is real, just look at the outside money, which has turned their dollars and negative ads directly at Dinsdale. The victor today is the likely winner in this deep red state.

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The Tea Partys Best Chance In 2014?

hide captionMississippi state Sen. Chris McDaniel speaks to supporters in Jackson on Thursday. He is challenging Republican Sen. Thad Cochran in Cochran's bid for a seventh term.

Mississippi state Sen. Chris McDaniel speaks to supporters in Jackson on Thursday. He is challenging Republican Sen. Thad Cochran in Cochran's bid for a seventh term.

The Tea Party Express bus tour made a recent swing through Mississippi, stopping on the lush grounds of the state Capitol in Jackson.

It's a strategic stop to rally support for a state senator who is giving longtime Republican U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran the re-election battle of his career. The Senate primary here is the latest episode in the national GOP power struggle between establishment forces and Tea Party upstarts.

"The conservative movement is starting its life again," challenger Chris McDaniel says to the small crowd gathered under sprawling oaks and magnolias. "And it's happening right here in Mississippi. Right? A revival."

hide captionCochran, shown here at a Pearl, Miss., Chamber of Commerce banquet, makes no apologies for bringing government largesse to the state.

Cochran, shown here at a Pearl, Miss., Chamber of Commerce banquet, makes no apologies for bringing government largesse to the state.

At 42, McDaniel styles himself as a fighter in the model of Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, ready to take on the powers in Washington, D.C. But first, he has to unseat a powerful and popular incumbent.

"I like Thad Cochran," he says. "When he went there in 1973 [to the House of Representatives], Richard Nixon was your president. It was a different era then," says McDaniel. "Perhaps at the time it was fashionable to spend money recklessly. But those days have passed."

To show just what an institution McDaniel is up against, take a walk around the University of Southern Mississippi campus in Hattiesburg, where the student union building is called the Thad Cochran Center. You can find something named for Cochran in just about every county in Mississippi.

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In Mississippi, A Tea Party Challenger Takes On A GOP Institution