Sen. Patty Murray (D) will have a tight race on her hands if former state Sen. Dino Rossi becomes the Republican Party’s choice to challenge her in the fall, a new poll shows.

Sampling conducted during the week of May 24 by the University of Washington found Murray leading 46 percent to 40 percent among likely voters.

When Rossi was tested against Murray among a larger sample of registered voters, the edge went to Rossi, 42 percent to 39 percent. The margin of error for the sampling of 1,695 registered voters was 2.3 points. When the pollsters screened for likely voters, the sample size dropped to 222, with an error margin of 6.6 points.

The poll’s director, Matt Barreto, told the Seattle Times that Rossi’s numbers may have benefited from publicity over his decision to enter the race.

“I think it is a result of Rossi leading the news almost every day the week of May 24, and that gave him a boost that week,” Barreto said.