A new poll shows Democratic U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin leading Republican state Sen. Tom Barrett by 5.7 percentage points in their tossup race for Congress in a battleground mid-Michigan district where abortion is a top issue motivating voters.

The survey of 400 likely general election voters, conducted Oct. 18-20, found that 47% of respondents plan to vote for Slotkin and 41.3% for Barrett. About 8% remain undecided, and 3.6% support Libertarian candidate Leah Dailey.

The poll conducted by the Lansing-based Glengariff Group Inc. was commissioned by The Detroit News and WDIV-TV (Channel 4) and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points. The poll had a partisan breakdown of 43% of voters who identify as Republicans, 39% who vote Democratic and 17% who consider themselves political independents.

Slotkin of Lansing and Barrett of Charlotte are running in Michigan's new 7th District that covers the greater Lansing area, Livingston County and small corners of Oakland and Genesee counties. The race is considered among the most competitive and expensive U.S. House contests in the country in the Nov. 8 midterm elections.