Poll: Hagan 42, Dole 39

The latest findings by Public Policy Polling are certain to get some buzz in political circles.

That's because the latest survey by the group shows Democratic state Sen. Kay Hagan leading Republican incumbent Elizabeth Dole in the U.S. Senate race.

The survey of 904 likely voters from Aug. 20-23 founds that 42 percent favor Hagan and 39 percent favor Dole. Libertarian Chris Cole was the choice of 5 percent.

The margin of error is plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.

Tom Jensen of PPP attributes Hagan's movement to an ad campaign by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee attacking Dole for her effectiveness and linking her to President Bush. Jensen described it as the "political equivalent of a punch in the gut from Muhammad Ali."

There's not much doubt where the momentum is coming from. 69 percent of voters in the state have seen the television ads about Elizabeth Dole's #93 ranking for effectiveness in the US Senate. And among those folks Hagan has an even wider 45-39 lead. Dole's saving grace is voters who don't watch much TV. She leads 45-34 with those who have not seen the ad.

More after jump.

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Jensen goes on to note that "one small note of concern" for Hagan is that while Dole's numbers have dropped 10 points, Hagan has only gained two points. He says a lot of the movement is into the undecided column.

"Elizabeth Dole has plenty of money and a lot of time to recover, but this race has moved itself firmly into the tossup category over the last month, a designation that would have once seemed unthinkable," Jensen wrote.