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Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton opened a double-digit lead against rival Bob Etheridge in the Democratic primary for governor, according to the latest Public Policy Polling survey released Monday.

Dalton's 36 percent to Etheridge's 26 percent represents a huge surge in April. At the start of the month, Etheridge held a 10-point lead with many voters undecided. His advantage began to evaporate by mid-month as Dalton spent about $400,000 on a TV advertising campaign and appeared to win many of those uncommitted Democrats.

A week ago, polls showed Dalton and Etheridge in a dead heat (26 percent to 25 percent, respectively).

UPDATED: Bob Etheridge is dismissing concerns about his fundraising and poll numbers as he falls behind in the money race and watches Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton surge to close his once solid lead.

Worried about the money? "We'd like to have more," he said. "We'll get through the primary OK. I think people know what I've done."

What about Dalton making the race a dead heat? "TV helps," he said. "If there's a void out there somebody is going to fill it. And we didn't have anything out."

Etheridge said Dalton had a week head start on TV advertising, but now he is matching Dalton "dollar for dollar" this week. He also questioned a Civitas poll that showed Dalton ahead by 5 points.

A new poll shows a major shift in the Democratic governor's race with Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton erasing rival Bob Etheridge's 11-point lead from a month ago.

The Public Policy Polling survey of Democratic primary voters puts the two frontrunners in a virtual tie with Dalton's 1-percentage-point lead within the poll's 4.4 percent margin of error.

In late March, Etheridge boasted 26 percent in head-to-head matchup with Dalton receiving just 11 percent. But while Etheridge remained essentially in place at 25 percent, Dalton scored a boost to 26 percent by winning previously undecided voters, the polling data shows.