Charlie Hales appears to be headed toward a sizable victory in Portland's mayoral race and now holds a 20-percentage-point lead over Jefferson Smith, according to a new poll commissioned for The Oregonian and released Monday.

Hales' growing lead comes less from his candidacy picking up momentum -- it has, but in limited numbers -- and more from fading support for Smith, whose campaign has been reeling this month after Oct. 1 revelations that he hit a woman in the face at a college party 19 years ago.

According to the poll, 43 percent of likely voters said they have either voted for Hales or plan to vote for him, compared with 23 percent for Smith.

Twenty percent of likely voters in the mayoral race said they remain undecided, while seven percent said they will vote for Eileen Brady, who lost in the primary, and seven percent said they will vote for someone else.

2012 polling

Meanwhile, in the Portland City Council's other race, incumbent Amanda Fritz is ahead at 38 percent to challenger Mary Nolan's 30 percent, according to the poll. But 32 percent of likely voters said they remain undecided before the Nov. 6 election.

Elway Research Inc. polled 408 likely Portland voters between Thursday and Sunday. The poll has a margin of error of 5 percent.

The Oregonian's poll is the first released publicly since

. That poll, by SurveyUSA, was completed before voters had a chance to weigh statement's from the attorney representing the woman Smith hit, or to read the police report. At the time, 33 percent of respondents said they were undecided.

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