Olathe ? Republican Phill Kline wasn’t quite ready Monday to declare himself the next Kansas attorney general, but it appears he will be the next occupant of that office.

“I’m waiting until the secretary of state certifies, but the numbers look very good for us now,” Kline said.

Despite guarded optimism, Kline planned to announce today a transition team as he moved closer to replacing Republican Carla Stovall as the state’s chief law enforcement official.

Meanwhile, State GOP Chairman Mark Parkinson declared Kline the victor over Democrat Chris Biggs as he tracked the provisional ballots that became key in one of the closest statewide races in recent memory.

“It doesn’t matter if you win by two votes, 2,000 votes or 20,000 votes,” Parkinson said. “The name of the game is to win, and Kline won.”

But Biggs wasn’t ready to call it quits. He asked Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh’s office to conduct a recount if the final margin between the two candidates is 0.5 percent or less.

With provisional ballots certified in 79 of 105 counties, Thornburgh’s office on Monday credited Kline with 411,052 votes against 407,007 for Biggs – a margin of 0.494 percent out of 818,059 votes counted.

Provisional ballots are cast when poll workers aren’t sure a person is eligible to vote. The most frequent reason for using a provisional ballot is when someone moved but did not tell election officials about their new address.

Parkinson said his figures, which included all but Sedgwick and Kingman counties, showed Kline winning by more than 0.5 percent.

The margin between winning and losing becomes important when considering a recount. If the margin is 0.5 percent or less, the state picks up the costs if the recount is done in the same way as the counting on Election Day.

If it’s greater, the candidate must pay the recount costs and put up a bond with Thornburgh’s office based on those costs before the recount can begin.

Kline got some traction Monday morning in Johnson County, which had the largest number of provisional ballots – more than 3,300.

He picked up 1,753 votes to Biggs’ 1,070. That meant Kline carried his home county 91,533 to 72,088.

In Shawnee County, Biggs gained 329 votes compared with 196 for Kline to carry the county 39,194 to 22,760.

Before the provisional ballots started to be counted Friday, unofficial results gave Kline 406,353 votes to 403,343 for Biggs, a margin of 3,010 out of 809,696 cast, or about 0.4 percent.

The close race came after the two candidates waged an acrimonious campaign, trading accusations over experience and ideology and arguing about who was best qualified.

Kline, 42, of Shawnee, was a legislator for eight years and led efforts for large tax cuts and conservative social policy. He ran unsuccessfully for the 3rd Congressional District seat two years ago.

Biggs, 43, of Junction City, has been Geary County prosecutor since 1988.