by Naomi Lim | Washington Examiner

Incumbent Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer conceded to opponent Kris Kobach Tuesday in an emotional address after the current Kansas secretary of state’s slim lead in their Republican gubernatorial primary widened to 345 votes, according to multiple reports.

“I just had a conversation with the Secretary of State and I congratulated him on his success and repeated my determination to keep this seat in Republican hands,” Colyer said, per the Kansas City Star.

“This election is probably the closest in America, but the numbers just aren’t there unless we go to extraordinary measures,” the governor added.

Colyer replaced GOP Gov. Sam Brownback in January after Brownback, being term-limited, decided to join the Trump administration as the U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom.

The tight race follows President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Kobach ahead of their primary.

Kobach led the president’s decommissioned panel on election integrity with Vice President Mike Pence before it was shut down amid numerous legal challenges.

His anti-immigration rhetoric also resulted in his name being floated as a possible Department of Homeland Security secretary until Trump offered the job to John Kelly, now the White House chief of staff.

Kobach will face Democratic opponent Laura Kelly, a Kansas state senator, in November.