Determined to show she's not completely down for the count, ex-Rep. Jill Long Thompson released a poll yesterday showing her campaign trailing Governor Mitch Daniels by a smaller margin than a public poll released earlier this week. Still, the Democratic nominee remains an underdog in the fight for one of the few competitive governor's races this year.

The survey, taken for Long Thompson's campaign by Benenson Strategy Group, polled 765 likely voters for a margin of error of +/- 4%, between 5/20-22. Long Thompson and Daniels were tested.

General Election Matchup
(All / Ind / Sou / Nor)
Daniels..........46 / 54 / 48 / 36
Thompson.....39 / 32 / 41 / 48

(Note: "Ind" means the Indianapolis region. "Sou" and "Nor" are the southern and northern parts of the state.)

The poll shows just 43% of Hoosiers set to vote to re-elect Daniels, while 36% say they won't vote for the governor. Also good news for Long Thompson, Daniels' favorable ratings are upside down. Just 46% say his job performance is excellent or good, while 52% say he's doing only fairly or poorly.

But Long Thompson, an underfunded challenger facing an incumbent in a state highly likely to vote heavily for John McCain, remains well behind Daniels. Though the incumbent has been hammered a few times for mismanaging the state's two key issues -- time zones and toll roads -- Republicans are confident the race will not be competitive by November.