The Kansas governor, Jeff Colyer, conceded on Tuesday evening in the state’s Republican gubernatorial primary, saying he would endorse Kris Kobach, the secretary of state, a week after their neck-and-neck finish threatened to send the race to a recount.

Kobach, who was endorsed by Donald Trump, has a national conservative following thanks to his strong stance against illegal immigration and his fervent defense of voter ID laws.

Colyer accepted defeat in a surprise announcement after a review of some provisional ballots from most Kansas counties failed to find enough votes for him to overcome a deficit of 110 votes at the time of poll closing in the 7 August primary, out of more than 311,000 votes initially counted. Kobach has seen his lead widen as the counting of provisional ballots continues into next week across the state.

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“I’ve just had a conversation with the secretary of state and congratulated him on his success and repeated my determination to keep this seat in Republican hands,” Colyer said. “This election may be the closest in America. But the numbers are not there.”

Colyer, a 58-year-old plastic surgeon from suburban Kansas City, served as lieutenant governor for seven years and took over as governor in January when Sam Brownback resigned to become ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom.

Kobach, 52, has been a lightning rod for controversy, and some Democrats believe their party has a better chance to capture the governor’s seat with him as their Republican opponent instead of Colyer. He was vice-chairman of the Trump administration’s election-fraud commission, though the commission eventually found no evidence to support Trump’s claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2016 presidential election. Kobach’s voter fraud efforts also took a hit in June when a federal judge found the proof-of-citizenship voter registration law he championed was unconstitutional.

“Never in modern Kansas history has any major party’s nominee for governor been viewed as poorly by everyday Kansans than Kris Kobach,” said Ethan Corson, the executive director of the Kansas Democratic party. “As the drawn-out Republican primary shows, even a significant number of Republican primary voters had and likely still have deep misgivings about the person now at the top of the GOP ticket.”

Kobach will face the Democrat Laura Kelly, and is likely to face the independent candidate Greg Orman, in the November general election in the decidedly conservative state. The bid from Orman, a Kansas City-area businessman who has launched what could become the most serious independent candidacy for governor since the 1930s, complicates Democrats’ efforts to recapture the governor’s office.

In a statement after Colyer’s announcement, Kelly said Kansas families had already suffered enough under Brownback and that the state didn’t need someone like Kobach who has pledged to bring back the same policies.

“With Kris Kobach as governor, Kansans get all the failed policies of Sam Brownback plus Kobach’s unique brand of hyper-partisanship and self-promotion,” Kelly said. “Quite simply, Kris Kobach is Sam Brownback on steroids, and that’s the last thing that Kansans need right now.”

Kobach said in a statement that he had received a call from Colyer before Colyer’s news conference, where he conceded.

“He was incredibly gracious, and that meant a lot after such a hard-fought campaign,” Kobach said. “I want to thank Governor Jeff Colyer for a race well run. He was a worthy opponent, and I thank him sincerely for his service to the state of Kansas. I will work hard to advance our shared values, and I look forward to working with Gov. Colyer and all Republicans to keep Kansas red in November.”