JANESVILLE, Wis. >> House Speaker Paul Ryan squelched any chance of an August surprise in Tuesday’s Wisconsin primary, while a former Marine running for the first time easily won a three-way race for an open congressional seat in the northeast of the state.

Ryan’s race was the unexpected focus just a week after GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump threw a burst of publicity toward his little-known and inexperienced opponent, Paul Nehlen. But Ryan, who had downplayed the challenge, easily handled the businessman by a 5-1 margin.

“We knew we were going to do well,” Ryan said after the win. “We got the votes we were hoping and expecting to get all along. The outcome is exactly what we were hoping for.”

The primary’s other top race was in northeastern Wisconsin, where GOP Rep. Reid Ribble’s retirement opened a swing congressional seat. Mike Gallagher, a former Marine who served as national security adviser for Gov. Scott Walker’s presidential campaign last year, handily defeated state Sen. Frank Lasee of De Pere, and Forestville surveyor Terry McNulty in the Republican race.

Gallagher told The Associated Press that his campaign benefited from his being a political outsider. This was his first run for office, while his closest challenger, Lasee, has been in the Legislature since 1995.

“This is a year when being an outsider, being someone who is not part of the system and having national security experience resonated with a lot of people,” Gallagher said.

He said he planned to take the same approach in the general election against Tom Nelson, the Democratic Outagamie County executive who ran unopposed. Nelson, a former state representative, touted his experience in a news release after Gallagher’s win.

“For too long, Washington has been paralyzed by partisan bickering and gridlock,” Nelson said. “I’m running for Congress because we need more people with the experience and the skills necessary to represent northeast Wisconsin.”

Gallagher had Ribble’s support and picked up late endorsements from a slew of GOP heavyweights. Ryan and Gov. Scott Walker endorsed him after the win.

Ken Staszak, voting in Green Bay, called Gallagher “the more conservative of the candidates” and said he “seems like he wouldn’t take any crap.”

No House speaker in modern political history had lost a primary, and Ryan was keen to avoid the fate that befell House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in the 2014 primary, when his political career ended due to a tea party challenger.

Ryan will face Democrat Ryan Solen, an Iraq war veteran, in the Nov. 8 general election.

Three other congressional incumbents — Democrats Gwen Moore and Ron Kind and Republican Sean Duffy — all won.

In an unusual legislative race, incumbent Democratic state Sen. Lena Taylor easily dispatched with a challenge from state Rep. Mandela Barnes. No Republican was running in the Milwaukee race, making it all-but-certain Taylor would retain the seat.