NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV-AP) -
Months of bruising primary campaign activity has come to an end as voters across Tennessee went to the polls Thursday to decide the winners.
In the state legislature, House Republican Caucus Chairwoman Debra Maggart has lost her re-election bid in the District 45 primary to Courtney Rogers.
With 71% of precincts reporting early Thursday night, challenger Lt. Col. Courtney Rogers had more than 1,200 votes, or 58%, compared with incumbent Maggart's 880, or 42%.
Rogers, a retired Air Force officer, was endorsed by the National Rifle Association, which was outraged that Maggart didn't push through legislation to allow workers to store guns in vehicles parked on company lots regardless of their employers' wishes.
In its endorsement of Rogers, the NRA accused Maggart of "procedural maneuvering behind closed doors" to defeat the bill opposed by the business lobby.
Maggart's race was among two dozen challenges to GOP incumbents.
Black defeats Zelenik
In one of the most heated congressional primaries, freshman U.S. Rep. Diane Black of Gallatin defeated challenger Lou Ann Zelenik for the 6th District of Tennessee.
With 76% of precincts reporting, Black had 32,028 votes, 76%, to Zelenik's 14,773, or 32%.
The race was a rematch of the 2010 campaign that featured saturation attack ads on TV. There is no Democrat running in the general election.
Corker Wins
Incumbent U.S. Sen. Bob Corker defeated four challengers to win the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate.
The former Chattanooga mayor faced a much easier time in his re-election bid than he did when he ran in 2006. Then he had a tough primary against two former congressmen and narrowly defeated former Democratic Rep. Harold Ford Jr. in the even more bruising general election campaign.
Seven little-known Democrats were vying for the nomination to face Corker in the general election.
In the most recent financial disclosures, Corker had more than $6 million remaining, while no other challenger had more than $19,000.
Copyright WSMV 2012 (Meredith Corporation). The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved.
