Rep. Mike McCaul (R) led former TV personality and attorney Larry Joe Doherty (D) by 9 points in late May poll conducted by the Democratic challenger’s campaign.

Doherty, who hopes to oust McCaul in the Republican-leaning 10th district, trailed the incumbent 43 percent to 34 percent, according to the survey, which polled 400 likely voters May 27-31.

Republicans led the generic ballot by just 4 points, 45 percent to 41 percent. That, and other information gleaned from the poll, left Doherty’s campaign optimistic that it can win in November.

“Our recent poll results indicate that voters in Texas’ 10th Congressional district may be willing to head in a different direction in 2008,” says the polling memo prepared by Democratic pollster Donna Victoria, of Goodwin Simon Victoria Research.

The National Republican Congressional Committee dismissed the Doherty campaign’s optimism, noting that McCaul’s legislative record and Sen. Barack Obama’s (Ill.) position at the top of the ticket as the Democratic presidential nominee will both work to sink Doherty on Election Day.

“Rep. McCaul has an independent record of fighting for alternative energy, the high-tech industry and the rural areas of the 10th district,” NRCC spokeswoman Julie Shutley said. “His record, coupled with the fact that the most liberal Democrat Senator will be at the top of the ticket on the other side, amounts to a win in November for Michael McCaul.”