State Sen. Leonard Lance leads Assemblywoman Linda Stender by four points in the 7th District Congressional District, according to a Monmouth University poll released today.

Lance leads Stender 41% to 37% among registered voters, and 43% to 39% among likely voters. Both numbers are within the poll’s margin of error, however, and 14% of the district’s voters are undecided.

Former Republican Michael Hsing, who’s running as an independent, attracts about 2% of the vote. That’s far worse than he did in an internal Stender campaign poll, where he attracted 9% of voters.

Monmouth University pollster Patrick Murray noted that Lance has a slight advantage on an issue that typically favors Democrats.

“This is shaping up as an election that will be decided on the margins. The top voter concern, the economy, has been benefiting Democrats nationwide, but Lance holds a slight edge on this issue. Governor Corzine and Trenton politics are viewed negatively, but Stender doesn’t seem to suffer too much by association. The ultimate deciding factor may be how closely voters

see Lance tied to Bush and their preference for which party should control Congress,” said Murray.