SOUTH BEND — Republican Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and Democrat Jill Long Thompson have been campaigning for months. Each wants to lead Indiana in the future.

But an exclusive WSBT/South Bend Tribune poll spoke with 600 likely voters around the state on Monday and Tuesday. What we found is a race in a dead heat.

If the election were held today, the poll shows Gov. Daniels would get 47 percent of the vote; Long Thompson would get 46 percent. Factor in the 4 percent margin of error and it's anybody's race.

The closeness of this poll is puzzling to the Daniels' campaign which cites other recent polls showing their candidate with a double digit lead.

"If you were to believe that, you would also have to believe that running out of money, having no message and not having a presence on TV at all has helped her campaign," said Chris Faulkner from the Daniels campaign.

Long Thompson hasn't had a big presence in the media because of cash problems. Despite that, her campaign says these numbers are a good sign.

"To close those polling numbers from what they were several months ago to really a neck and neck horse race shows great momentum," said Steve Luecke of the Thompson campaign.

The poll shows that pocketbook issues like the economy, taxes and energy costs are resonating with Indiana voters. IU South Bend political scientist Elizabeth Bennion says each candidate will need to tell voters how they'll help grow the state's economy. For Long Thompson, that will mean getting visible.

"She will need to make that push and make her case if she's going to close that gap in some polls or move ahead based on these poll results," said Bennion.

Neither candidate seems to be taking a win for granted and both expect a big push in the coming weeks.

"What you're going to see is an unprecedented amount of volunteer activity leading up to Election Day," said Faulkner.

"This just gives them the incentive to work even harder. To recruit volunteers and I think good poll numbers bring not only more dollars, but more volunteers and that helps in the home stretch," said Luecke.

Pollster Deli Ali says the tightness of this race could be attributed to the hits Republicans are taking across the country because of the bailout bill.

He says when you factor in the margin of error in this poll, Daniels could be up by as much as 10 percent.

Those surveyed were also asked if they would vote for a woman for governor. Eleven percent said they weren't sure. In a tight race like this, Bennion says what those people decide could cost someone the election.

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