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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) Republican Shelley Moore Capito and Democrat Natalie Tennant will face off in Novembers general election, when West Virginia will elect a woman to the U.S. Senate for the first time.

Capito is favored to win Novembers contest in a state that hasnt elected a Republican to the Senate since the 1950s. A Capito victory could help the GOP take control of the Senate for the final two years of President Barack Obamas tenure.

Tennant and Capito easily won their respective party primaries Tuesday, setting up a general election showdown to succeed Jay Rockefeller, a Democrat who is retiring after nearly three decades serving in the upper chamber.

Obama is deeply unpopular with many West Virginians, who take his administrations proposed pollution rules on coal-fired plants, among other regulations, as an affront to the coal industry. Coal is not only a key facet of the states cultural identity its a major economic driver. A statue of a coal miner stands in front of the state Capitol.

Republicans clearly want to use Obamas poor standing to their advantage. For months, motorists in Charleston could see a billboard displaying a picture of Tennant at a 2008 Obama rally. Natalie Tennant (hearts) Obama, the billboard read.

The stakes are high, Capito said Tuesday night. She said her priorities as a senator would be ending the war on coal and rolling back Obamacares devastating effect on small businesses.

With more than $4 million in the bank, Capito has built a 4-to-1 cash advantage over Tennant by running as a moderate from the polarized, GOP-controlled House. She avoided a tea party-fueled challenge from the right, despite less-than-enthusiastic reviews of her voting record by well-funded conservative groups like Americans for Prosperity and the Heritage Foundation.

West Virginias coal industry backs Capito, 60, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce spent $200,000 promoting her late last year, federal campaign finance records show.

Capito was first elected to the House in 2000. She defeated Tennants husband, state Sen. Erik Wells, in a 2004 House race.

Tennant has the backing of unions and abortion rights groups, and she has tried to distance herself from the president by vowing to be an independent voice on energy issues.

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Capito, Tennant to face off in W.Va. Senate race