The race for Kansas Attorney General and the question of whether controversial Republican Kris Kobach would make a successful return to Kansas politics were too close to call Tuesday.

Kobach and Democrat Chris Mann were in a dead heat in the race for attorney general. At 10:45 p.m., both candidates had approximately 50% of the vote, with Kobach holding about a 1,000 vote lead, according to unofficial results from the secretary of state’s office.

Most of the state’s largest counties, including Johnson, Wyandotte, Shawnee, Sedgwick and Douglas counties, had reported their vote totals, but the race was still awaiting returns from more than 25 smaller counties spread across the state.

Kobach, who lives in Lecompton, is a former Kansas Secretary of State, where he pushed voter ID policies, and also gained a national reputation for promoting new restrictions on illegal immigration. His campaign website lists issue of prosecuting voter fraud, creating a special litigation team to sue the federal government, and a plan to “restore pro-life laws.” He unsuccessfully challenged Laura Kelly in the Kansas governor’s race four years ago, and is making his first attempt at winning a statewide race since losing that contest.

Mann, who lives in Lawrence, is a private practice attorney who previously was a police officer and a prosecutor for the Wyandotte County District Attorney’s Office and then the Kansas Securities Commission. He’s a relative newcomer to politics. Mann’s campaign website said he “will protect the rule of law and ensure Kansas families are safe,” and said he would “focus on law enforcement, not politics.”

With about 85 percent of precincts reporting in the state, unofficial results shows Mann had won in Johnson, Douglas, Shawnee, Riley and Lyon counties, but Kobach had either won or was leading in nearly every other county in the state.