A newly released poll shows Republican Gov. John Hoeven winning a potential Senate race against Democrat Sen. Byron Dorgan.

The telephone poll, conducted by Zogby International, contacted 502 potential North Dakota voters Tuesday and Wednesday.

Results from the poll showed Hoeven with a 55 percent to 36 percent lead with 9 percent undecided.

Dorgan leads another possible challenger, Republican Duane Sand, by a similar margin, 60 percent to 28 percent with 10 percent undecided.

The poll was commissioned by the League of American Voters, a group which opposes health care reform.

The poll also asked respondants how a vote by Dorgan in favor of the health care reform bill would affect their decision at the polls in the 2010 election.

Twelve percent said they would be more likely to vote for Dorgan as a result, while 40 would be less likely.

Forty-six percent say Dorgan's vote on health care makes no difference, including 62 percent of likely Dorgan voters.

Hoeven, who is in Fargo this weekend, has not announced his candidacy for the Senate.

Don Canton, spokesman for Hoeven, said, "There is really nothing new to say on our end."

Responding to the poll, Democratic senatorial campaign committee communications director Eric Schultz released a statement saying the poll was slanted and biased.

"This so-called poll is yet another transparent attempt by a right-wing organization with a political agenda," Schultz wrote.

"Their partisan bias shows in their laughably skewed results, which are far out of line with nonpartisan polling we've seen, including the recent North Dakota Prairie Poll that showed Sen. Dorgan slightly ahead of the governor if he were to run.

"North Dakotans have shown time and time again that they like the job Sen. Dorgan is doing for the state, and they see through these transparent political smears by the League of American Voters and other Republican groups."