Topeka ? Shawnee County’s district attorney is making Johnson County prosecutor Phill Kline an issue in trying to fend off a vigorous challenge from Kline’s chief deputy in the Republican primary.

Challenger Eric Rucker said District Attorney Robert Hecht is trying to distract voters from a poor record as a prosecutor.

The Hecht-Rucker race already was spirited before Hecht raised Rucker’s tie to Kline, the Johnson County district attorney, in a fundraising letter last week. Some Republicans believe Rucker has a good chance of unseating the two-term incumbent in the Aug. 5 primary.

Kline is a former attorney general who has received national attention for investigating abortion clinics and has a criminal case pending against a Planned Parenthood clinic in Overland Park. Kline also faces a primary challenger in Johnson County.

In his fundraising letter, Hecht described Rucker as Kline’s “most ardent disciple.”

“A most dangerous duo is developing,” Hecht wrote.

Hecht contended that it’s reasonable to conclude that Kline’s and Rucker’s candidacies are a “joint endeavor,” with their supporters hoping to advance an anti-abortion agenda.

But Rucker said: “He would prefer to talk about anything but his record.”