A new poll shows the Democratic Senate candidates in a dead heat.

SurveyUSA's latest polls shows state Sen. Kay Hagan and Jim Neal virtually tied in the race for the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

Hagan and Neal are essentially tied, with her receiving 21 percent support and him 20 percent. Lesser-known candidates Duskin Lassiter, Marcus Williams and Howard Staley trail with six percent, five percent and four percent, respectively.

Forty-five percent of voters were undecided.

The poll of 725 likely voters was conducted April 5-7. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.7 percent.

Kay Hagan continues to lead the pack in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate, according to the results of the latest survey by Public Policy Polling.

PPP surveyed 1,100 likely Democratic primary voters on March 29-30. It found that Hagan, a state senator from Greensboro, was the choice of 19 percent of those surveyed. Jim Neal, a Chapel Hill linvestment banker, was the favorite of 11 percent.

The margin of error was plus or minus 3.0 percentage points.

Marcus Williams, a lawyer from Lumberton, was the choice of 6 percent. Duskin Lassiter, a truck driver from High Point, was the favorite of 4 percent, and Howard Staley, a podiatrist from Moncure, was the choice of 2 percent.

But the majority of those surveyed - 58 percent - remained undecided about which candidate they preferred to take on Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

A new statewide poll shows the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate to be a dead heat.

Jim Neal, a Chapel Hill investment banker, is supported by 21 percent of likely voters, compared to state Sen. Kay Hagan of Greensboro, with 18 percent, according to a SurveyUSA poll conducted for WTVD-TV.

The survey found 44 percent of Democratic voters were undecided, with Marcus Williams, Howard Staley and Duskin Lassiter in single digits, reports Rob Christensen.

The new poll also found that Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue was leading state Treasurer Richard Moore, 44-28 percent, in the Democratic primary for governor.

In the GOP primary for governor, Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory led with 26 percent, followed by state Sen. Fred Smith with 18 percent, Salisbury attorney Bill Graham with 16 percent, and former Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr with 12 percent.

In the presidential race, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama was leading New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, 49-41 percent.

The survey was taken by automated phone calls on March 8-10. There were 713 Democrats interviewed with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points, and 403 Republicans interviewed with a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

Democrats apparently don't have a clue who they want to take on Republican U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, according to the latest numbers released by Public Policy Polling.

The group's poll of 553 likely Democratic voters on Feb. 6 found that 21 percent prefer state Sen. Kay Hagan. Jim Neal was the choice of 7 percent, John Ross Hendrix was the choice of 6 percent and Duskin Lassiter was the choice of 5 percent. Howard Staley was the choice of 1 percent.

But 61 percent said they are still undecided.

The margin of error was plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.

A Moncure podiatrist will run for U.S. Senate.

Howard A. Staley, 52, announced yesterday that he would enter the Democratic primary against state Sen. Kay Hagan and Chapel Hill investment banker Jim Neal.

He said that he wants to add his experiences as a doctor, patient and employer to the upcoming debate over health care in Congress. In particular, he argued that insurance companies are charging excessive fees at unsustainable levels.

A native of Philadelphia, he moved to Chatham County 26 years ago to work as a podiatrist. Having never run for public office before, he said he knows he faces an uphill battle. Cary graphic artist John Ross Hendrix and Lexington trucker Duskin Lassiter are also running as longshot candidates.

"I know that it's a longshot," he told Dome, "but I wanted to offer myself up as a candidate." 

A self-employed trucker is running for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate.

Duskin Lassiter, 37, of Lexington said he would focus on restoring manufacturing jobs, creating universal health coverage, improving border protection and increasing the minimum wage to $12 an hour.

"I am not a politician, lawyer or even wealthy," Lassiter said in a video on his Web site. "I am a self-employee small-businessman who has personally felt the impact of bad economic policies over the past few years."

He has driven freight to other states for more than a decade. 

He faces Chapel Hill investment banker Jim Neal and state Sen. Kay Hagan in the primary. (AP)