An independent poll released by Joe Hoeffel‘s campaign showed the Democratic gubernatorial candidate doing better in the southeast in a hypothetical matchup against Republican Tom Corbett than the front-runner for the Democratic nomination, Dan Onorato.

The poll was conducted by Lake Research Partners on behalf of pro-abortion-rights women, according to the Hoeffel campaign. It is not an internal poll.

Its release seems designed as an attempt to bolster one of the central claims of Hoeffel‘s candidacy, that he can better attract support in the voter-rich southeast than the Western Pennsylvanian Onorato.

Hoeffel, a Montgomery County commissioner, leads Corbett 43 percent to 38 percent among southeast voters, the poll reported. Onorato, on the other hand, faces a 12-point deficit to Corbett, it reported.

Hoeffel maintained his lead over the attorney general even after those taking the poll were told negative things about he and Corbett, while Onorato‘s deficit grew under the same scenario.

Polling has shown Onorato has the early lead on his inter-party opponents, whom also include state Senator Anthony Williams and Auditor General Jack Wagner. Most Democratic voters, however, have not decided which candidate they will support.

A margin of error or sample size was not immediately available.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story stated the poll was an internal one conducted by the Hoeffel campaign. That was incorrect. PoliticsPA regrets the error.