Shortly after a SurveyUSA poll showed the margin in Kentucky's U.S. Senate race shrinking dramatically, a new poll commissioned by the Louisville Courier-Journal finds Louisville Democrat Bruce Lunsford and U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Louisville) statistically tied.

The survey of 717 likely voters - conducted by Mason-Dixon polling - showed each candidate collecting 41 percent support from respondents. The Courier-Journal reports that including "leaners" in the results gives McConnell a one-point edge, 45 to 44 percent.

The poll was conducted from Sept. 22 to Sept. 25, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percent.

The paper also reports the poll found "favorable" ratings hit 40 percent for McConnell and 26 percent for Lunsford. Unfavorable ratings hit 31 for the incumbent and 29 for the challenger.

48 percent approved of McConnell's job performance in the U.S. Senate, and 39 percent disapproved.

The Courier-Journal also reports the McConnell camp rejected the poll results as not reliable, similarly to initial polls from late May that showed their candidate behind Lunsford.

A SurveyUSA poll from mid-August gave McConnell a 12 point lead, but that firm's latest measurement found the gap closed to 3 points.