UPDATE -Schmidt defeated Patton 53 to 47 precent.
The vote Tuesday will settle a tough fight between two Republicans running for a Kansas Senate seat from Topeka.
Incumbent Vicki Schmidt is one of the few remaining moderate Republicans in the Kansas Senate, and she's facing a primary challenge from conservative former House member Joe Patton.
At a polling place in southwest Topeka, voter Lynn Thompson supported Schmidt because he likes that Schmidt leans towards the center, politically.
“Kansas has always been a red state, and I understand that, but I like the fact that there’s some moderation. I don’t like the extreme that we’ve gone to in our state politics,” says Thompson.
Another voter, Shannon Obdyke, was supporting Patton. She wants someone new in the seat because she isn’t satisfied with the way some issues have been handled in the Statehouse.
“Basically, getting the whole state budget back in order. What we’re doing isn’t working. Robbing Peter to pay Paul, that’s got to give. It’s not going to be sustainable,” says Obdyke.
This is a rematch of the race four years ago, when Schmidt narrowly defeated Patton.
Whoever wins the Republican nomination will face off in November with one of four Democratic candidates also vying for the seat.