Overland Park ? Conservative Republican Phill Kline survived assaults from GOP heavyweights and two primary election opponents to win the party’s nomination for attorney general Tuesday.

Kline will face Democrat Chris Biggs, the Geary County prosecutor, in the Nov. 5 general election. Biggs faced no primary opposition.

Kline outdistanced state Sen. David Adkins, a moderate Republican with a long list of establishment endorsements including Gov. Bill Graves and Atty. Gen. Carla Stovall. Stovall did not seek re-election.

But with 96 percent of the votes counted, Kline nabbed 50 percent of GOP voters. Adkins got 39 percent of the vote, and Topeka lawyer Charles McAtee received 11 percent.

Though opposed by most moderate Republicans, Kline said Adkins and McAtee had called him to concede defeat and offer their support.

“We’re going to continue campaigning to restore respect for the law, faith in neighborhoods and our national heritage,” Kline said.

Kline and Adkins are about the same age, 42 and 41, both have legislative experience, both received law degrees from Kansas University, and both live in Johnson County.

But the two were poster boys for the warring factions within the Republican Party.

One of the major differences is that the conservative Kline opposes abortion while Adkins supports a woman’s right to decide.

Kline found early campaign success beating up Adkins over a bill passed during the 2000 legislative session that released criminals from prison or shortened their parole time. Adkins was a key author of the bill. Kline, who was serving in the state House of Representatives at the time, voted against it.

As polls showed Kline running strong, U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, Graves and Stovall took shots at Kline. Roberts’ office leaked that the Bush administration was not pleased with Kline’s credentials when U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback recommended Kline be U.S. attorney for Kansas. The White House denied that allegation.

Stovall had a news conference to say Kline should release the FBI background check on him as part of the nomination process.

Graves tried to help Adkins by criticizing a pro-Kline television ad run by an out-of-state law enforcement group. Graves said the language of the ad jeopardized a murder trial in Wichita.

Jim Mullins of Lawrence, president of the conservative Kansas Republican Assembly, said “voters wanted someone ethical.”

Mullins said Adkins lied in a television commercial that said Kline “lost” his law license. Kline had allowed his license to lapse three times.

In 2000, Kline won the Republican Party nomination to challenge U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore, the only Kansas Democrat in Congress. Though Republicans enjoy a significant advantage in the district, Moore, getting strong moderate Republican support, defeated Kline in the general election.