Topeka ? Republican Phill Kline and Democrat Chris Biggs remained deadlocked early today in their battle to become Kansas attorney general.

At 1 a.m., with all but 30 precincts reporting, Kline and Biggs each had 50 percent of the vote, with Kline ahead by some 2,700 votes out of more than 800,000 cast.

The key to victory may lie in the 8,000 to 10,000 provisional ballots that won’t be reviewed and counted by county election officials until Friday or, in a few cases, Monday. A provisional ballot is cast when poll workers aren’t sure someone is eligible to vote.

After months of trading accusations about experience and ideology, the lead between the two candidates switched back and forth several times Tuesday night, with the margin at times fewer than 200 votes.

Kline’s spokesman Whitney Watson predicted a victory, saying votes in conservative Western Kansas precincts remained to be counted. Kline didn’t pull ahead in the August primaries until results from those regions were reported, Watson said.

“This mirrors what happened in the primaries,” he said.

Biggs, meanwhile, proclaimed moral victory.

“Regardless of what happens tonight, we went from an unknown candidate filing on the last day to being in a 50-50 race, and that’s quite an accomplishment,” he said.

Impromptu concert

Their campaigns responded to the dead heat differently. Biggs, seen as the underdog heading into the election, joined his supporters and performed an impromptu bluegrass music concert. Kline’s handlers, meanwhile, canceled his planned mid-evening appearance among the hundreds of Republicans gathered at the Kansas Expocentre.

“It’s an interesting night,” said Kari Austin, executive director of the Kansas Republican Party. “It’ll be tough.”

Though polls in recent days showed Kline with an edge in the race, they also revealed a substantial number of undecided voters. Political observers had predicted the race would be settled along party lines, but Tuesday’s results  neck-and-neck in a predominantly Republican state  indicated otherwise.

Biggs, the Geary County prosecutor, spent the race hammering away at Kline’s qualifications, noting Kline had allowed his law license to lapse on three separate occasions. He also questioned why Kline dropped out of consideration last year to be U.S. attorney, although White House officials said they were never concerned about Kline’s qualifications.

Kline, in turn, criticized Biggs for testifying last year on behalf of a convicted sex offender. Biggs said he testified in the case because the man was a friend. The case involved a man who was 20 years old having sexual relations with a girl between 14- and 16-years-old, according to authorities. Biggs said he testified that the man was socially and emotionally immature, which can be considered during the sentencing phase in such cases. The man was sentenced to three years in prison.

Abortion issue

Kline had a better-financed campaign, raising more than $335,000 during the July 26-Oct. 24 campaign finance reporting period. Biggs raised about $138,000 during that time. Kline had more than $80,000 in his campaign fund, compared with less than $7,700 for Biggs.

The future of the abortion-rights debate in Kansas could hinge on the election’s outcome.

Kline, who was a legislator for eight years, had promised tougher enforcement of the state’s abortion laws, and he indicated he was receptive to pursuing a Kansas House resolution that orders the attorney general to seek a court ruling that life begins at conception.

Biggs had said he didn’t think the resolution was enforceable and agreed current Atty. Gen. Carla Stovall’s interpretation that federal law requires an exemption from abortion prohibitions when the mother’s mental health is at stake.

Biggs predicted the race might not be decided until the end of the week, when all provisional ballots were counted.

“We’ll just wait and see what happens. It’s obviously very close,” Biggs said. “I would like to have it resolved, but it’s obviously not going to happen that way tonight.”

In races where the difference is less than half a percentage point, the state picks up the cost for a recount, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.