Republicans must weigh many factors in the race for the governor’s nomination.

Kansas Republicans will face difficult choices in Tuesday’s primary election.

Senate President Dave Kerr of Hutchinson probably is the most qualified candidate in the field, but Wichita Mayor Bob Knight is holding a narrow lead in election polls. Kerr and Knight appear to be splitting the loyalty of the moderate wing of the Republican Party, a circumstance that probably is benefiting State Treasurer Tim Shallenburger, who presents himself as the standard-bearer for conservative Republicans.

The numbers for the top two candidates in the Republican race are very close. In the statewide World Company poll released earlier this week, Knight was favored by 32 percent of voters and Shallenburger by 27 percent. The 5 percentage points that separate them is exactly the stated margin of error for the poll.

Kerr trailed the other two with an surprisingly low 18 percent support, but questioned the poll results, saying his own polling shows him even with Shallenburger while Knight’s support is dropping. With less than a week until the election and 20 percent of likely Republican voters indicating in The World Company Poll that they were still undecided, the race clearly is too close to call.

So what questions should Republicans be asking themselves? Shallenburger is presenting himself as the clear-cut choice of conservative voters and drawing more support than many observers expected. His no-new-taxes message is resonating with many Kansas voters, but his claims that Kansas can maintain current services without raising additional revenue don’t hold up to critical examination. The World Company Poll also showed that, at this point, Shallenburger is the least likely of the top three Republican candidates to be able to win an election against Insurance Commissioner Kathleen Sebelius, who is unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

Moderate Republican voters face a choice between Kerr and Knight. Considering his experience in Topeka and his knowledge of the legislative process, Kerr’s third-place showing in The World Company Poll is disappointing. Knight would be a fresh voice in Topeka and bring experience in business leadership and consensus-building to the Governor’s Office. He has good name recognition in western Kansas, but those who conducted the poll say there are many undecided voters in areas of the state where his support is strong. If Kerr is, indeed, running a poor third in the race and those undecided voters choose either Shallenburger or Kerr, the shift may tip the balance in Shallenburger’s favor.

The state is facing an extremely challenging time. The financial woes that plagued the last legislative session will be worse by the time the new Legislature and the new governor take office in January. Other states are in a similar circumstance. The states that come out of this economic crunch on the top of the heap will be those that have strong leaders with the vision and the courage to look beyond the current crisis and preserve key state services like education and economic development that are critical to their states’ futures.

As Kansas Republicans go to the polls, they should be looking for someone who can unite their party and provide the strongest opportunity for a victory in November. It’s an important choice.