Overland Park ? Republican Tim Shallenburger on Tuesday rode his anti-tax message through one of the weirdest gubernatorial primaries in recent Kansas history to set up a November general election matchup against Democrat Kathleen Sebelius.

The current state treasurer and former House speaker won the Republican nomination with 42 percent of the vote. Senate President Dave Kerr received 29 percent, and 26 percent voted for Wichita Mayor Bob Knight. Former Eudora school superintendent Dan Bloom, who gave up his campaign Friday and threw his support behind Knight, finished with 3 percent.

Phill Kline, the Republican nominee for Kansas attorney general, celebrates after getting early election results. Kline, who on Tuesday defeated David Adkins and Charles D. McAtee for the nomination, will face Democrat Chris Biggs in November. Kline's wife, Deborah, left, rear, and daughter, Hillary,10, also are shown.

“Isn’t it fun to win?” Shallenburger told a buoyant crowd of several hundred supporters at the Overland Park Marriott. “Today and tomorrow we begin anew. Tomorrow we bring the Republican Party back together.”

Kerr and Knight both conceded earlier.

“I was whipped real good,” Knight said. “To the victor goes the glory.”

Both pledged to support Shallenburger beginning today at a GOP unity breakfast in Topeka.

The election was a stunning finale to a GOP campaign that saw candidates slip, stumble and drop out.

‘A different way’

Jim Mullins of Lawrence, president of the conservative Kansas Republican Assembly, said Shallenburger’s victory “tells people that they don’t want tax increases. That’s the real story. Tim is telling people there is a different way.”

The Shallenburger victory means conservatives are in charge of the Republican Party in the top two races in the state governor and attorney general. Conservative Phill Kline defeated David Adkins to become the GOP nominee in that race.

Kansas State Treasurer and Republican gubernatorial nominee Tim Shallenburger celebrates after his opponents conceded defeat. Shallenburger met supporters Tuesday night in Overland Park. He'll turn his task toward unifying the party and defeating Democrat Kathleen Sebelius in November.

Mullins said powerful, active conservative interest groups pro-life, pro-guns and anti-tax groups helped push the conservative candidates ahead despite being outspent by moderate Republicans. “It’s just because we outworked them,” he said.

The World Company Poll last week showed that among registered voters, Sebelius led Shallenburger by double-digits.

Mel Kahn, political science professor at Wichita State University, said it helped Shallenburger that turnout was low and moderate Republicans split their votes between Knight and Kerr. Knight even had trouble on his home turf, losing narrowly to Shallenburger in Sedgwick County.

“Shallenburger is going to have a difficult time attracting many of his party’s moderates and Democrats,” Kahn predicted, though he said Shallenburger is popular with some labor groups. Kahn said the matchup between Sebelius and Shallenburger will be “very competitive.”

Can he win moderates?

Except for the 55th, 64th and 67th precincts, which were won by Bob Knight, all Douglas County precincts outside of Lawrence were won by Tim Shallenburger. Absentee balloting also was won by Shallenburger.

Shallenburger reiterated his no-taxes mantra in his victory speech.

In an interview later, he said he expected he would be able to gain the support of moderate Republicans, noting he won in Johnson County precincts where voters also supported a tax increase for schools.

“We don’t anticipate that will be a problem” in getting moderate Republican voters, he said.

Shallenburger said he wanted to change the school finance formula and make government more efficient.

The GOP race for the governor’s nomination was filled with false starts.

Early on, U.S. Rep. Jerry Moran of Hays was deemed the favorite, a candidate who could unify conservative and moderate Republicans. But Moran delayed entering the race and after the Sept. 11 attacks announced he would stay in Congress.

More ins and outs

Without Moran, moderates and conservatives jockeyed for position. Moderate Lt. Gov. Gary Sherrer was considered a possible candidate, but backed out saying he wanted to spend more time with family. House Speaker Kent Glasscock of Manhattan had earlier announced he would run for governor. Atty. Gen. Carla Stovall for a while became the moderate flag-carrier. Glasscock’s campaign shriveled, and he joined Stovall as her running mate.

Meanwhile, conservative forces led by U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback held meetings and decided Shallenburger should run.

In February, Knight announced his campaign and he began airing television ads statewide as the “pro-education and pro-life” candidate.

Then in mid-April, Stovall shocked the GOP moderate hierarchy by dropping out of the race, saying she was planning to get married.

Glasscock said he would get back in the campaign for the top job, then decided against it, but ended up joining the Knight ticket. Kerr, who spent much of the legislative session feuding with Glasscock, entered the race in late May, saying he was the moderate Republican.