BOISE - Idaho Republican primary voters this week spurned a drive by libertarian-leaning upstarts aiming to oust GOP House and Senate incumbents.

This comes after Republican Mitt Romney's easy March victory in Idaho's "Super Tuesday" caucus over libertarian and GOP candidate Ron Paul.

With the next test of the dominant Idaho political party's mood coming next month at the state GOP convention in Twin Falls, there's growing evidence it's exiting a period marked by tea-party advances and entering another where Republicans stick by candidates they know amid an improving economy and falling unemployment.

Gov. Butch Otter said his Tuesday-night takeaway is this: Idaho will remain conservative, but won't tilt much further right.

Otter has another goal for the June 21-23 confab, too: Convincing delegates to join his push for reopening the GOP primary to more than just Republican voters. It was closed by conservatives, but the two-term governor wants to see that undone after blaming it for Tuesday's record-low turnout of just 23 percent.

In another sign of the Idaho GOP's direction, all 16 Republican candidates who got financial help from the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry won Tuesday night, as voters turned back libertarian-leaning hopefuls.

The list of incumbent survivors includes Sens. Patti Anne Lodge of Huston, Dean Cameron of Rupert and Shawn Keough of Sandpoint; and Reps. George Eskridge of Dover, and House Majority Caucus Chairman Ken Roberts of Donnelly.

Alex LaBeau, the pro-business group's top lobbyist, said their success shows a "throw the bums out" atmosphere that ruled in 2010 is in retreat.

By contrast, 12 of the 40 candidates endorsed by conservative strategist Lou Esposito's political action committees came up short.

Esposito, a former GOP redistricting committee member, became a central figure in the 2012 primary election after PACs he coordinates received thousands from House Speaker Lawerence Denney, House Majority Leader Mike Moyle and Rep. Bob Nonini, a Coeur d'Alene Republican running for the Senate in November.

Moyle dedicated his $5,000 check toward beating Roberts, with whom he has a personal feud; Nonini spent a total of $12,000 in his bid to defeat Cameron, Eskridge, Keough, as well as Sen. John Tippets, R-Montpelier.

These internal GOP machinations could lead to a possible shakeup to House leadership - if enough members grow disgruntled, said David Adler, director of the Andrus Center for Public Policy at Boise State University.

"I think it will at the very least lead to a strong challenge," Adler said, suggesting House Assistant Majority Leader Scott Bedke, R-Oakley, could benefit.

Bedke, who backed Roberts and Eskridge with $1,000 checks of his own, has called Denney's and Moyle's intervention in GOP primary races "unprecedented," but declined comment on whether he'll mount a challenge. Roberts also wasn't talking.

But Eskridge, who survived tea party leader Pam Stout's run against him, said he has heard from numerous lawmakers disappointed about the primary meddling, in particular by Nonini.

"The fact that he worked against fellow House members, and in addition worked against some pretty solid Senate members, is going to be raising questions about what Rep. Nonini's goals are in the Legislature," Eskridge said.

Nonini didn't return a phone call.

Senate President Pro Tem Brent Hill, R-Rexburg, said one Republican senator has called for Nonini to be sanctioned for trying to unseat incumbents.

Hill didn't outline his plans, but conceded fence-mending is in order.

"Part of leadership's responsibility is to have a cohesive caucus, so we can get the work done we're trying to do and not spend our time bickering with one another," he said.