Topeka ? For weeks, Bob Knight has portrayed himself as the leading candidate in the Republican governor’s race. The Wichita mayor has said he is comfortably ahead.

But last week, he did something his opponents thought odd for a candidate who claimed to be leading the field. He began broadcasting negative television ads across the state.

Wichita Mayor Bob Knight talks with fellow gubernatorial candidate Dan Bloom of Eudora in a campaign stop in DeSoto. Knight's friends describe him as a unifying leader who doesn't shy away from important political fights.

Those ads attacked State Treasurer Tim Shallenburger, whose own advertising emphasized Shallenburger’s promise not to raise taxes if elected governor. Knight’s campaign proclaimed that the Wichita mayor was ending Shallenburger’s “free pass to mislead the voters and distort the public record.”

Shallenburger immediately said Knight was trailing him in the race and desperate to do something. Another candidate, Senate President Dave Kerr, of Hutchinson, suggested Knight was slipping.

Knight’s new ads raise that question. They also suggest that the Republican contest for governor remains wide open.

“I don’t think there’s a lead horse in this race right now,” said state Sen. Derek Schmidt of Independence, a moderate Republican who hasn’t endorsed a candidate.

Other contenders

Also seeking the GOP nomination in the Aug. 6 primary is Dan Bloom, a former Eudora schools superintendent. The winner will face Democrat Kathleen Sebelius, the insurance commissioner; Reform Party candidate Ted Pettibone, a St. Marys farmer and businessman; and Libertarian Party candidate Dennis Hawver, an Ozawkie attorney.

Shallenburger entered the race first, in October, and predicted early that he would win, drawing first on his base of conservative supporters but adding other Republicans in time.

Knight became a candidate in January, and some Republicans considered him the front-runner after Atty. Gen. Carla Stovall dropped out.

Kerr jumped into the race in May, acknowledging he began as a dark horse candidate but confident that his candidacy would pick up support quickly, as it had to do for him to be successful.

Knight camp confident

Various camps have buzzed with often contradictory spin, a sort of political mold that expands when the dry light and heat of media-sponsored polls are absent.

For example, Shallenburger’s critics suggested that his support hadn’t grown beyond 20 percent or 25 percent of likely GOP voters the conservative activists in months. Shallenburger and Knight suggested that Kerr remained largely unknown. Kerr supporters see him as rising, moving to eclipse Knight.

Knight’s campaign says the Wichita mayor remains ahead.

“Slipping in the polls? Absolutely not,” said spokesman Joe Pisciotte. “We’re where we want to be.”

Knight’s most recent ads suggest something has happened in the campaign. He’s running an attack ad, meaning he wants to counter another candidate’s message, indicating that message may be reaching some voters or that Knight is worried that it could.

Shallenburger has stressed his opposition to tax increases, while Knight and Kerr have promised to protect education and vital social services even if it means raising taxes.

Knight’s latest ads attempted to portray Shallenburger as a hypocrite who talks conservative but isn’t. For example, the ads say that spending on a renovation of his office’s suite, new furniture and employee bonuses amounted to more than $600,000.

Shallenburger disputed the spending figure and suggested Knight had more on his mind than ending Shallenburger’s “free pass.”

“The Knight campaign is taking on water,” Shallenburger said.

Many Republicans undecided

Watching from a bemused distance was Kerr. He said that last week, his campaign spent more money on television ads about $95,000 than Knight and Shallenburger combined.

“It’s also interesting that Shallenburger, after whining about Knight’s attack, went on the attack himself,” Kerr said. “It’s interesting that they’ve suddenly realized that my campaign is on the ascendancy.”

The early poll numbers coming from the Knight camp suggested that a good portion of likely Republican voters perhaps one-third of them remained undecided.

In such a scenario, a lead is meaningless. The late Gov. Joan Finney proved that in the 1990 Democratic primary when, written off as hopelessly behind, she stunned the state with a narrow victory over former Gov. John Carlin.

And many Republicans say Knight, Kerr and Shallenburger haven’t created enough enthusiasm to put the race away yet.

“People are not focused on this race,” Schmidt said. “Usually, about this time in an election, people come up to me and say, ‘I kind of like Joe Smith. What do you think?’ This year, people are coming up to me and saying, ‘Who’s running?”‘

And Knight’s ads are another sign that the Republican nomination for governor remains up for grabs.