06:28 PM PDT on Wednesday, August 18, 2004

By JIM KLOCKOW / KING5.com

AP Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., shakes hands with supporters at the airport in Twin Falls, Idaho on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2004.

Democrat John Kerry is keeping hold of his lead over George Bush in Washington state in his bid to win the White House, according to the latest KING 5 News tracking poll.

The poll also shows incumbent U.S. Sen. Patty Murray holding a very comfortable lead over challenger U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt.

If the vote were held today, Kerry would win by 8 percentage points, with 51 percent of the vote among likely voters, according the SurveyUSA poll commissioned for KING 5.

The results are virtually unchanged from a similar poll taken two weeks ago.

The statewide phone poll of 602 voters taken Aug. 15 through 17 has a margin of error of 4.1 percent.

Bush remains strongest in Eastern Washington, where he gets 56 percent of the vote. Kerry dominates in Metro Seattle, where he gets 60 percent support, as well as urban areas in general, where 56 percent of likely voters said they would vote for him.

The poll also showed that Washington veterans and active-duty military are more likely to vote for Kerry, 50 percent compared to 46 percent for Bush.

Bush retains overwhelming support, however, among those who report attending regular religious services -- 61 percent -- and those who describe themselves as conservative -- 78 percent.

In the Senate race, Murray's lead over Nethercutt has actually widened to 14 points since earlier this month when she lead by 11.

Murray would get 53 percent of the vote if the election were held today, compared to 39 percent for Nethercutt. Six percent of likely voters said they would vote for one of the other primary candidates and 1 percent said they were undecided.

Murray's support is strongest among the most educated voters. Sixty-four percent of those with graduate degrees said they would vote for Murray. Nethercutt leads by 2 percentage points among college grads.

Of note, 14 percent of those who said they would vote for Bush in the presidential race said they would cross over to vote for Murray.