ESCANABA – Lon Johnson say he now has a slight lead in the Congressional campaign against Jack Bergman.

An internal poll by Anzalone Liszt Grove Research, a democratic polling firm, showed Democrat Johnson leading Republican Bergman 43 to 42 percent with Libertarian candidate Diane Bostow at 7 percent. With a plus or minus 4 percent margin of error, the poll shows the race to be even.

Johnson said he has been campaigning hard to reach as many people as possible. Last week he greeted workers at the Escanaba Paper Mill in Escanaba.

“How someone campaigns is indicative on how they will govern. Do they tell the truth, are they available, are they around, do they work hard? Those are different traits that you just don’t get in a television commerical,” Johnson said.

Johnson has been hammering at Bergman on social security and residency in the 1st Congressional District.

Johnson claims Bergman omitted his participation on a board of a private school in New Orleans when he filed paperwork on his campaign. Johnson said it shows Bergman hasn’t been living full time in Watersmeet.

“That’s not straight talk. That’s not even the truth. You deserve a member of Congress that is going to tell you the truth and going to be honest with you. If a man is going to lie on an application for a job, would you hire him? Absolutely not. If he will lie to you once, he will lie to you again,” said Johnson.

In return, Bergman has claimed Johnson doesn’t live in Kalkaska where he grew up, instead living in Detroit where he lived when he served as the Michigan Democratic Chair.

The poll of 500 likely voters was conducted on Oct. 10-12.