Tuesday's primary races yielded big losses for tea partyers, solidifying the strength of the GOP establishment prior to November's midterm elections. 

The primary elections in Kansas, Missouri, Michigan and Washington state yielded mostly losses for tea party republicans, according to The Chicago Sun-Times

Pat Roberts, a three-term senator, beat out tea party favorite Milton Wolf in Kansas' primary election. Wolf, who is a radiologist and distant cousin of President Barack Obama, lost with 41 percent of the vote to Roberts' 48. Two other candidates received 11 percent of the vote. 

Roberts urged Republicans not to waste "scarce resources and energy tearing ourselves apart" in his victory speech. 

"My posse did not flinch, even though there were times when their candidate -- me -- stepped on our message," he continued, in an effort to brush off critics. 

Roberts, 78, is a conservative Republican, and moved even further right during his re-election campaign. He backed the nomination of Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to be Secretary of Health and Human Services, but called for her resignation after the botched launch of Obama's health care website last October. He also voted against a United Nations treaty on the rights of the disabled in 2012, despite appeals from Kansas Sen. Bob Dole, who is now in a wheelchair. 

His opponent, Wolf, said that Roberts is too entrenched in Washington, and condemned Obama's policies, particularly on health care. Wolf was backed by a number of tea party groups, in addition to the Senate Conservatives Fund. 

However, Wolf was brought down by Facebook photos he posted of x-rays of gunshot victims along with lighthearted comments. Wolf apologized, but Roberts used the flub as ammunition in the primary race. 

Roberts will go head-to-head against Democrat Chad Taylor in November. 

High-ranking Republican senators saw losses in both 2010 and 2012 when tea partyers beat them out for majority control. Now, they are gaining back their seats, with wins in Kentucky, Texas, South Carolina and Mississippi. Yet, in Mississippi, six-term Sen. Thad Cochran lost twice before defeating Chris McDaniel. 

Thursday's primary in Tennessee will see two-term Sen. Lamar Alexander challenge Rep. Joe Carr, but Alexander is expected to win. 

The GOP now has renewed optimism about gaining the six seats required to take back control of the Senate in November. 

In Michigan's 11th Congressional District, lawyer and businessman Dave Trott defeated Rep. Kerry Bentivolio 66 to 34 percent, once again knocking out a tea party candidate. 

Bentivolio, a part-time reindeer rancher and Santa Claus impersonator, was elected in 2012 when former Rep. Thaddus McCotter turned in fraudulent voter signatures to get on the ballot. Bentivolio is the third House incumbent to lose in the primary, in addition to Republican Reps. Ralph Hall of Texas and Eric Cantor of Virginia. 

He had scathing words for his Republican colleagues in his speech. 

"The status quo in the Republican Party is going to have to change whether they like it or not," Bentivolio said in his concession speech. "They will no longer be allowed to have our vote simply because we dislike the Democrats more."

Yet, Michigan Republican Rep. Justin Amash did secure one win for the tea party, defeating challenger Brian Ellis. 

Primary season will continue with elections in Tennessee on Thursday, Hawaii on Saturday and Minnesota, Connecticut and Wisconsin next week. At the end of August, voters will also vote in the Republican Senate primary in Alaska against Sen. Mark Begich, and Hawaii voters will decide between Sen. Brian Schatz and Rep. Colleen Hanabusa in Hawaii's Democratic primary. 

Republican and Former Washington Redskins football player Clint Didier will now go up against Dan Newhouse in the general election for the seat of Rep. Doc Hastings, who is retiring after serving 10 terms int the House.