Hazelton Mayor Lou Barletta (R) continues to hold a narrow lead in his race against U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Nanticoke), according to an internal poll released by the Barletta campaign today.

The poll, conducted by Susquehanna Polling and Research in Harrisburg, found Barletta leading the longtime incumbent, 45 percent to 41 percent. An earlier poll commissioned by the campaign, released in in June, found similar results. In both polls, a margin of error of almost 5 percent means the two candidates continue to be in a dead heat in a race that has grown increasingly contentious.

Barletta's campaign sought to frame the poll results as evidence that Kanjorski's recent advertising blitz was failing to move voters, and pollsters commissioned by the campaign said Kanjorski's negative ads were even backfiring with some voters.

"Beginning in June, Paul Kanjorski and his Washington, D.C., friends launched a series of ads that tried to prop up his dismal record and attacked me, but those ads are not working," Barletta said in a statement. "The hardworking people of the [district] are smart enough to see through those slick ads, and they're saying they are ready and eager to vote for new leadership in Congress."

This is Barletta's second run against Kanjorski, after failing to oust the Democrat from his 11th Congressional District seat in 2002. This time around, the race is becoming one of the most bitterly fought in the state, with attacks and counter-attacks flowing freely from both sides.

The poll surveyed 400 likely voters from July 27-29. Like Barletta's last poll, it showed low approval ratings for Kanjorski, who has been in office since 1984.

A Kanjorski campaign spokesman declined to comment on the poll.