Gillibrand Leads Pataki by Slight Margin

Current New York senator Kirsten Gillibrand leads in polls against former governor George Pataki by a small margin, according to a Rasmussen poll released Thursday.

Gillibrand is leading Pataki with 45% of New York voters saying they would support her, over 42% who said they would vote for him. Seven percent said they prefer another candidate, and 5% of voters are undecided. Male voters prefer Gillibrand by seven points, while women are evenly divided, according to the findings. Independent voters favor Pataki by 22 percentage points.

Pataki was governor of New York from 1995 to 2006. While he has indicated an interest in the Senate race, he has not officially thrown his hat into the ring.

Gillibrand, since taking the position in the Senate earlier this year, has been working to drum up support to overturn the military's ban on openly gay service members. Last month Gillibrand proposed an 18-month moratorium on enforcement of the ban but had to withdraw it from a defense spending bill when it became clear it would be blocked by a Republican filibuster.

The field in the 2010 senatorial race in New York may crowd even more, as former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani is rumored to be planning a run.