The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee released a poll Monday showing its candidate with a 5-point lead over the Republican in the open-seat 3rd district race.

Iraq War veteran Ashwin Madia (D) and state Rep. Erik Paulsen (R) are running for retiring Rep. Jim Ramstad’s (R) seat.

Madia led Paulsen 44 percent 39 percent in the Bennett, Petts and Normington (D) poll of 400 likely voters. Businessman David Dillon, the Independence Party nominee, received 8 percent in the survey. Another 9 percent said they were undecided. The poll was conducted Sept. 29-30 and had a margin of error of 4.9 points.

Ramstad handily held onto to the suburban Twin Cities district for more than a decade; however, the region has voted increasingly for Democrats in recent cycles. National Democrats are heavily targeting the seat, pumping $625,553 in independent expenditures into the district as of Oct. 2.