Poll: Chavez leads by 15 points in president race

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — A poll says President Hugo Chavez has a 15-point lead in his presidential race with opposition leader Henrique Capriles.

The survey by the Caracas-based Datanalisis polling firm last month says 46 percent of those polled would vote for Chavez in the Oct. 7 presidential election, while nearly 31 percent backed Capriles.

Datanalisis president Luis Vicente Leon said Monday that undecided Venezuelans could be the key to the outcome, noting that 23 percent of those polled had no opinion on whom to vote for.

The poll talked to 1,300 randomly selected Venezuelans between June 14 and June 23 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. It was financed by a group of more than 100 clients, including businesses and public institutions.