Democratic Rep. Brad Ashford is vulnerable this year because he’s defending a Republican-leaning seat. But a new internal poll released Wednesday showed the Nebraska incumbent holding off his Republican challenger by 10 points.

The poll, conducted Sept. 14-18 by the Global Strategy Group, put Ashford at 50 percent and his GOP opponent, retired Brig. Gen. Don Bacon, at 40 percent, with 10 percent of likely voters undecided. The margin of error was 4.9 percentage points.

Ashford has been trying to downplay his party ID in a district that Mitt Romney carried by 7 points in 2012. When asked at a parade this summer whether he was Democrat, Ashford responded, “Aw, I don’t know. Whatever you want me to be.”

Ashford is one of the few Democrats the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has endorsed. He’s also backed by the National Federation of Independent Business.

The poll found Ashford with a 65 percent job approval and 19 percent disapproval rating. More Republicans approve (50 percent) than disapprove of his job performance (34 percent), according to the poll. The polling memo did not include favorability numbers for Bacon.