In the Republican Party primary race for attorney general, undecided is in first place.

Phill Kline has a 30 percent to 26 percent lead over David Adkins, but Tuesday’s primary will be decided by the large number of voters  38 percent  who haven’t yet made up their minds, according to The World Company Poll.

“Both candidates have their base locked down, and there are a lot of voters who don’t know the candidates and haven’t paid that much attention to the race,” said pollster Brad Coker.

Charles McAtee, the third candidate in the race, is drawing support from 6 percent.

The poll of 427 likely GOP voters was completed Monday and has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

According to results of a poll of 625 registered voters of all political parties, Adkins is a stronger candidate than Kline in a head-to-head match-up in the November general election against Democrat Chris Biggs. The Geary County prosecutor faces no primary opposition.

Despite a hard-hitting GOP primary campaign by Kline and Adkins, “people are not paying attention to the mud,” Coker said. Neither candidate’s negative ratings are high, with Kline’s at 9 percent and Adkins’ at 3 percent.

Candidates respond

The outcome will depend on who has the money and organization to get his message across to voters in the final days, Coker said. Those factors, he said, “don’t show up in polls.”

Both Kline, a former state representative from Johnson County, and Adkins, a state senator from Johnson County, interpreted the results of the poll in their favor.

“I’d rather be me than him,” Kline said of his front-runner status.

Kline said the poll’s breakdown by congressional district was encouraging because it showed him with a large lead  43 percent to 22 percent  in the 3rd Congressional District, the home of both Kline and Adkins.

“That’s where people know the both of us best, and among those who know us, I’m leading,” Kline said.

But Coker said Kline’s large lead in the 3rd District probably was due to the fact people remember his name from his congressional campaign in that district in 2000. That was a race he lost to U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore, a Democrat.

Adkins disagreed with the poll, saying his campaign’s private polling showed him slightly ahead statewide and solidly in front in the 3rd District, 44 percent to 35 percent.

Adkins focused on the part of The World Company Poll that showed him with a bigger lead over Biggs in the November election. He said that showed he was “best able to keep the seat in the Republican Party.” The current attorney general, Republican Carla Stovall, is not seeking re-election.

Graves’ support

That part of the poll showed Adkins with a 38 percent to 23 percent advantage over Biggs, and Kline with a narrower 32 percent to 27 percent lead. That poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

But Kline said he doubted Adkins would match up better against Biggs.

“I haven’t found many Kansans who support releasing violent felons,” Kline said, referring to Adkins’ role in passing a bill in 2000 that led to the early release from prison and parole of thousands of criminals.

The debate about the bill has become a major battle between the two candidates.

While Kline has a commanding edge in the 3rd District, Adkins is leading Kline in the Wichita-area 4th District, 33 percent to 22 percent. Adkins attributed that lead to support from several high-profile law enforcement officials in the area.

Adkins is receiving heavy support from establishment Republican leaders, including Gov. Bill Graves, who is doing commercials for Adkins, and Stovall, who staged a news conference criticizing Kline.

But Coker said that could eventually help Kline because he was receiving support from GOP voters who were more active during primaries and weren’t supportive of Graves.

“The conservative bloc is a good start for Kline. The question is: Can he build on it?” Coker said.

The World Company Poll was conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc. of Washington, D.C. For questions about the general election, the poll included telephone interviews with 625 registered voters who vote regularly in state elections. The margin of error for that poll was plus or minus 4 percentage points. The interviews were conducted Friday through Sunday.

For questions about the primary election, 427 likely Republican primary voters were interviewed. The margin of error for that poll was plus or minus 5 percent points. The survey was completed Monday.