Poll puts King in lead by 14 points, marriage ahead by 7

Independent Senate candidate Angus King appears comfortably in the lead in Maine’s U.S. Senate race heading into the contest’s final weekend, according to a new poll by Public Policy Polling.

The poll, released Friday night, shows King with 50 percent support compared to 36 percent for Republican Charlie Summers and 12 percent for Democrat Cynthia Dill. In mid-September, the North Carolina-based polling firm had King just 8 points ahead of Summers. The survey showed King gaining a greater share of Democratic and GOP votes than the previous survey.

PPP also surveyed Maine voters on Question 1, the same-sex marriage referendum, and found voters 52-45 in support and 3 percent undecided. That’s similar to the 52-44 margin the firm found in September. In a tweet, PPP predicted a close vote on same-sex marriage, as voters who are undecided in polls tend to vote against same-sex marriage.

PPP, founded by Democratic pollster Dean Debnam, surveyed 1,633 likely voters on Nov. 1 and 2. The margin of error for the survey was 2.4 percent.

In the presidential race, PPP found President Barack Obama leading Republican challenger Mitt Romney statewide 55-42. In the 2nd Congressional District, where Republicans hope to pick up a single electoral vote, Obama’s lead over Romney was smaller, 51-46.

Another poll released Friday, from Gravis Marketing, showed an even tighter matchup in the 2nd District, with Obama leading Romney there 50-47. The Florida-based firm surveyed 509 likely voters also on Nov. 1 and 2 and reported a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percent.

Read the full poll results. At least two additional polls are expected this weekend.