Dan Crenshaw beats Kevin Roberts in Republican primary runoff

Dan Crenshaw

Retired Navy Seal Dan Crenshaw has pulled off an upset to capture the Republican nomination for a Houston congressional seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Ted Poe.

Dan Crenshaw beat one-term state Rep. Kevin Roberts during Tuesday's Republican primary runoff. Roberts conceded less than two hours after polls closed.

That was a mild surprise since Roberts topped Crenshaw by about six percentage points during Texas' March 6 primary. But he headed to a second round because neither candidate won a majority of the votes cast in a nine-candidate opening round of voting.

Crenshaw will face attorney Todd Litton, who won the five-way Democratic primary in March.

Poe is stepping down after six terms in Congress. His district encompasses many of Houston's suburban Republican strongholds and is expected to stay safely Republican after November's general election.