It’s slightly closer, but a new poll released by the Albuquerque Journal on Monday (Oct. 29)still shows Democrat Martin Heinrich leading Heather Wilson as their hard-fought and expensive US Senate race has now seen both candidates raise more than $12.7 million.

The poll, which was conducted by Research and Polling Inc., shows Heinrich leading 50 percent to 42 with Independent Jon Barrie getting 3 percent of the vote. Six percent are listed as “undecided/don’t know.”

Compared to the previous Journal poll that came out earlier in October, Heinrich’s lead on Wilson has been reduced by 1 point — although a 1 percent difference is well within the polls’ margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percent.

The Wilson camp can point to a 3-point gain from the previous poll (from 39 percent to 42) but Heinrich supporters can point out that the new poll marks the first time the Democrat has reached the 50 level in the Journal poll. (In a Rasmussen Reports poll that came out Oct. 11, Heinrich led 52-39.)

“Heather Wilson needs to pick up more crossover Democrats and independents,” Brian Sanderoff of Research and Polling Inc., said to the Journal. “For her to close the gap and to win, she needs more of those groups.”

The details of the Journal poll show Heinrich with a 45-44 lead among the 662 likely voters in the survey who called themselves Independent/Other. The telephone poll was conducted between Oct. 23-25. Heinrich and Wilson took part in their final debate on Oct. 25.

As for the money being spent, the non-partisan website www.opensecrets.org that tracks political spending on Capitol Hill reveals that according to the most recent paperwork that was filed Oct. 17, Heinrich and Wilson have combined to raise more than $12.7 million for the Senate seat that will be vacated by the retiring Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-New Mexico).

Wilson has raised $6,576,223 and spent $5,971,945 while Heinrch has raised $6,264,133 and has spent $5,977,028. Note: In a previous posting, we mistakently reversed the numbers for the two candidates. The numbers here are correct. We apologize for the error. Here’s the page breaking down the Heinrich-Wilson spending.

Raising $12.7 milion is a lot of money for New Mexico but it’s a far cry from the most expensive Senate race this year. That distinction goes to the Scott Brown-Elizabeth Warren race in Massachusetts, that has racked up $68.8 million.