Kansas Governor Colyer concedes Republican nomination to Kobach

(Reuters) - Kansas Governor Jeff Colyer on Tuesday conceded the closely contested Republican nomination for the state’s governor race to Kris Kobach, a candidate endorsed by President Donald Trump.

FILE PHOTO: Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach talks about the Kansas voter ID law that he pushed to combat what he believes to be rampant voter fraud in the United States in his Topeka, Kansas, U.S., office May 12, 2016. REUTERS/Dave Kaup/File Photo

Kobach, who serves as the Kansas secretary of state, in the latest tally for the Aug. 7 primary election, had received 128,543 votes, or 345 more votes than Colyer.

“I’ve just had a conversation with the secretary of state and I congratulated him on his success and I repeated my determination to keep this seat in Republican hands,” Colyer said at a news conference.

“This election is probably the closest in America but the numbers are just not there, unless we were to go to extraordinary measures,” Colyer said.

Colyer had been appointed governor after Sam Brownback vacated the post to join Donald Trump’s administration.

The primary election was held on Aug. 7, but a winner had not been determined in the Republican race for the nomination for governor due to the narrow margin.

Both Colyer and Kobach received about 41 percent of the vote.

Kobach will face Laura Kelly, who won the Democratic nomination, in November.

Reporting by David Gaffen in New York and Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles; Editing by Sandra Maler and Lisa Shumaker

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