WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., leads his main Republican opponent, John James, according to a poll released on Thursday.

The Quinnipiac University poll showed Peters leading James 45%-39%.

For the poll, Quinnipiac surveyed 845 self-identified registered voters in the state between Feb. 12-18. The poll has a margin of error of 3.4 percentage points and the partisan breakdown of the Michigan sample was 28% Republican, 31% Democrat and 35% independent.

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Most recent polls have shown Peters, who is running for his second term in office, leading James, a businessman in Detroit who ran unsuccessfully in 2018 against U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.

James is widely expected to be the Republican nominee and the state Republican Party has endorsed him.

The poll showed self-described independents breaking for Peters by a slim 39%-37% margin, with 18% saying they were unsure who they would back. Peters was winning among Democrats 88%-4%, and James among Republicans, 83%-8%.

Contact Todd Spangler:tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter@tsspangler. Read more onMichigan politics and sign up for ourelections newsletter.