Bob Hanson said he thought voters in the 19th Kansas Senate District would have a clear choice when they hit the polls in November.

Hanson, 48, a Topeka Baptist pastor, won the Republican primary Tuesday to advance to the general election and challenge veteran Anthony Hensley, a member of the Senate since 1992 who now serves as Senate minority leader.

“I think there are marked differences between us,” Hanson said. “It starts with what the parties stand for on things like family issues.”

Hanson, received 51 percent of the vote. Douglas Desch, a real estate appraiser from Berryton, received 33 percent, and Lowell Ramsey, an attorney from Tecumseh, got 16 percent.

Hensley had no Democratic challenger in the primary.

The district includes Marion and Willow Springs townships in southwest Douglas County.

Hanson testified in favor of a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage during the 2004 Legislature. Hensley has opposed the amendment.

But Hanson said he expected school finance and taxes to be bigger issues. Hensley supported tax increase proposals during the last session; Hanson said he thought taxes were unwanted and unnecessary.

“I think the majority of people in the 19th District are going to be opposed to that,” he said of a tax increase. “The majority of the people I’m talking to say, ‘We’re paying out the nose already.'”

Unofficial primary election results Photo gallery: Primary election night More election stories