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CARSON CITY -- Republican Don Chairez holds a razor-thin lead over Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto in the race for attorney general, according to a new poll commissioned by the Review-Journal.

Chairez had the support of 28 percent of voters, while 26 percent supported Cortez Masto, according to the survey of 625 registered voters statewide.

"I am very encouraged," said Chairez, a former District Court judge. "If you listen to political pundits, I don't have a chance. What it tells me is the state is a little more conservative than the state Democratic Party wants to hear."

Cortez Masto said she is confident that once her television advertisements start running next month voters will see she is the most qualified candidate.

"As a first-time statewide candidate, it is important for me to get my name out there," she said.

Questioners found 32 percent of potential voters were undecided and 7 percent favored none of the candidates. The poll found more than 60 percent of voters surveyed were not familiar with either Chairez or Cortez Masto.

Another 7 percent supported Chris Johnson, the Independent American Party candidate who died in August. His name will not be on the November ballot.

Pollsters surveyed voters on three other races and found the following:

• In the race for secretary of state, Republican Danny Tarkanian holds a 44 percent to 32 percent lead over Democrat Ross Miller.

• In the race for treasurer, Republican Mark DeStefano leads Democrat Kate Marshall 33 percent to 29 percent.

• In the race for state controller, Democrat Kim Wallin holds a 28 percent to 23 percent lead over Republican Steve Martin.

Voters were interviewed by telephone Sept. 19-21 by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research of Washington, D.C. The results have a margin of error of four percentage points. The poll was commissioned by the Review-Journal, reviewjournal.com and KVBC-TV, Channel 3.

Mason-Dixon managing partner Brad Coker said candidates for all "down ticket" races across the country have difficulty acquiring name recognition and that is why there are so many undecided voters in their races.

The key to victory will be reaching them, he said.

"People know about the governor and Senate races, but little else," Coker said.

The survey found 56 percent of the respondents did not even recognize the name of Ross Miller. He is the son of Bob Miller, who served as Nevada's governor for 10 years.

By contrast, only 23 percent did not know Danny Tarkanian, son of former UNLV basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian and Las Vegas City Councilwoman Lois Tarkanian.

"Miller is a fairly common name, so people may have not made the connection," Coker said. "Tarkanian isn't. You don't have to live in Nevada to know the Tarkanian name."

Despite the poll showing him with a big lead, Danny Tarkanian predicted a close race. A Reno Gazette-Journal poll published Sept. 15, showed him trailing Miller 42 percent to 33 percent.

"I am not going to get too excited about it," he said. "The race is going to be close until the end."

Miller called the results "wholly inconsistent" with the Gazette-Journal poll and expressed confidence he will win once he gets his advertising message out.

"It is going to be a tough race," Miller said. "The only poll that matters is on Nov. 7."

Cortez Masto is the daughter of the late Manny Cortez, a former Clark County commissioner and longtime president of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. But the poll found 62 percent of respondents did not know Cortez Masto's name.

Chairez was an unknown to 64 percent, but his political experience might have contributed to his lead in the race, Coker said.

Besides serving as a District Court judge, Chairez has run unsuccessfully for state Supreme Court and Congress.

He also led the move this year to place Question 2 on the ballot. Under the question, voters could limit the ability of government to use eminent domain laws to take private property from one party and transfer it to another private party.

Despite trailing DeStefano in the treasurer's race by four percentage points, Marshall said the results were "great."

"Most of the people haven't focused on the treasurer's race yet," she said. "He spent all of his money on the primary and he is in a statistical dead heat with me. It is like a set of dominos are falling in place for me."

DeStefano also was upbeat.

"We have been working hard for 20 months and we will continue to work," he said. "In the end, hard work will make the difference."

In the controller's race, Wallin was optimistic.

"It is still early, but I am happy to see we have the lead," she said. "I am out pounding the pavement."

Martin, who was appointed state controller by Gov. Kenny Guinn in July following the death of Controller Kathy Augustine, said neither of the candidates have much name recognition. He said he hopes that will change as he gets his message out.

"We are basically tied," he said. "The challenge will be getting the undecided voters to swing to my side."