BY WESLEY P. HESTER

A new poll shows Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Timothy M. Kaine with a narrow lead over Republican opponent and fellow former governor George Allen.

The survey of Virginia voters from left-leaning Public Policy Polling shows Kaine with a 46-43 lead, within the poll’s 4.4 percentage point margin of error.

While the two have almost identical support among loyal party voters, Kaine has a 44-33 edge among independents.

The poll also looked at the possibility of tea party Republican Jamie Radtke knocking off Allen in the primary, in which case Kaine’s lead grows to 16 points (47-31), the poll shows.

Additional GOP primary comparisons will be available Thursday.