Congressional incumbents won their respective primaries by comfortable margins in the Hoosier state Tuesday night, according to voting results released by the Indianapolis Star.

In the Democratic presidential primary, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) held a slim lead over Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.).

Longtime Rep. Dan Burton (R) staved off his primary opponent, former Marion County Coroner John McGoff (R), by about 11 points. With 73 percent of precincts reporting, the contest is closer than publicly released polls and political observers predicted. The 5th district is one of the most Republican-leaning districts in the state, and Burton is not expected to have a competitive challenger in the general election.

Newly minted Rep. André Carson (D-Ind.), who recently won the special election to fill out the term of his grandmother, the late Rep. Julia Carson (D), defeated three primary challengers, including one Hoosier Democrat who put $1.8 million of his own money into his short campaign. With 84 percent of precincts reporting, Carson was leading the self-funder, former state Health Commissioner Woody Myers, 45 percent to 24 percent.

As the incumbent, Carson had the backing of local and national party organizations. He will face state Rep. Jon Elrod (R), whom he defeated in the March special election, this November.

– Shira Toeplitz