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MONTGOMERY — U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions easily won renomination in Alabama's Republican primary on Tuesday night, and state Sen. Vivian Davis Figures was leading for the Democratic nomination to oppose him.

With 8 percent of the precincts reporting, Sessions had 18,778 votes, or 94 percent, and retired postal worker Earl Mack Gavin tallied 1,175 votes, or 6 percent.

Sessions, who was in Washington, said he was honored to be nominated for a third term. "It is a privilege to work every day for the people of Alabama," he said.

In the Democratic primary, Figures had 7,140 votes, 70 percent. Johnny Swanson III ran second with 1,933 votes, or 19 percent, and Mark "No NCAA" Townsend was third with 1,086 votes, or 11 percent.

Sessions, 61, of Mobile is a former federal prosecutor and state attorney general who went to the Senate in 1996. He was the financial heavyweight in the race, with more than $4 million in his campaign chest. All the other candidates combined haven't raised one-tenth of what Sessions has.

Sessions never went into campaign mode during the low-key GOP primary, but he said the general election would be different.

"I look forward to traveling to every corner of the state as we run a vigorous campaign during the general election this fall," he said.

Gavin, 67, of Smiths Station made his first campaign as a Republican after running losing statewide races as a Democrat for president of the Public Service Commission in 1976 and state auditor in 2002. His Senate bid was so low-key that he described it as a "front porch campaign."

Figures, 51, has served in the state Senate since 1997, when she was elected to replace her late husband, Michael Figures. In her first race for statewide office, she picked up endorsements from the Alabama Democratic Conference, the black wing of the state Democratic Party, and the Alabama New South Coalition, a predominantly black political group.

Figures was second to Sessions in fundraising, with about $200,000.

Swanson, 55, of Birmingham is a disabled veteran who is retired from the private security business. He tried to run against Sessions in 2002 as an independent, but couldn't get enough votes to get on the ballot.

Townsend, a 49-year-old truck driver from Haleyville, had little time for campaigning due to his job. He relied on his newly made-up nickname and a lively Web site (http://www.sessionsisasissy.com ) to attract attention. Townsend ran unsuccessfully for the State Board of Education in 2000 and governor in 2002.