Linda Stender leads Leonard Lance by three percentage points, 36%-33%, in the race for Congress from New Jersey’s seventh district, according to an Anzalone/Liszt Research poll conducted for the Stender campaign.

Bridgewater Councilman Michael Hsing, a Republican running as an Independent, is polling 9%.  Tom Abrams, a retired marketing executive running as an anti-war candidate, is receiving 2% of the vote.

The poll shows presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama in a statistical dead heat in the district: McCain 45%, Obama 43%.  President Bush has an upside-down favorable rating of 30%-64%.

Stender, a Democratic Assemblywoman from Union County, faces  Lance, a GOP State Senator from Hunterdon County, for the seat of retiring U.S. Rep. Mike Ferguson, a Republican who is not seeking re-election.

“The political environment is competitive from a partisan standpoint, and Stender appears to have more easy expansion potential than Lance,” the pollsters told the Stender campaign in a memo obtained by PolitickerNJ.com. “This is going to be a close race, and Stender should win if she has the resources for paid communication in this difficult media market.

Anzalone/Liszt says that Hsing and Abrams are hurting Lance more than Stender.  “Without them in the race, Stender leads 43% to 42% – slightly smaller than her 3-point lead with the third-party candidates included. Michael Hsing has approximately as much cash on hand as Leonard Lance, and will continue to be a factor,” the memo said.