(The Politico) Republican state senator Kirk Schuring is narrowly leading Democratic state senator John Boccieri in the race to succeed retiring Rep. Ralph Regula (R-Ohio), according to an internal poll released by Schuring’s campaign.

The poll shows Schuring leading Boccieri, 40 to 34 percent, with 26 percent of voters undecided.

The poll, conducted by the Tarrance Group, surveyed 400 likely voters in the district between July 8-9 and has a 4.9 percent margin of error.

“Today's poll is evidence that the people here in the 16th Congressional District want someone to represent them who will stand up for their concerns and work to fix the crucial problems we face,” Schuring said in a statement.

The poll provides some encouragement for Republicans after Schuring’s campaign appeared to get off to a inauspicious start.

He drew unwanted attention for recent comments he made at a rally in Ashland, Ohio, where he suggested that the district’s major city, Canton, was so unsafe that if his campaign held a rally there “we might be shot at.”

Democrats feel the district is one of their top pickup opportunities now that Regula has stepped down after serving 18 terms in office. The district only gave President Bush 54 percent of the vote in 2004, and Regula won 58 percent of the vote in 2006 – his lowest total since first elected in 1972.

Democrats have touted Boccieri’s biography – he’s an Air Force pilot who served in the Iraq war.  He has spent the last eight years as a state legislator in the district. 

Copyright 2008 POLITICO

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