By Charles Wolfe
The Associated Press

FRANKFORT - Buoyed by former backers of Democratic Gov. Paul Patton, Republican Ernie Fletcher leads Democrat Ben Chandler with less than two weeks remaining, according to a poll conducted for the Associated Press.

If the election for governor were held today, 52 percent said they'd vote for Fletcher and 43 percent for Chandler. Those numbers include 2 percent who said they weren't sure but leaned toward Fletcher and 1 percent who leaned toward Chandler. Four percent were undecided or said they would not vote for either candidate.

The poll found 37 percent of those who reported voting for Patton in 1999 now back Fletcher.

The poll indicated voters thought Fletcher was better equipped to handle the state's economy, hold the line on taxes and spending and to deal with education, health care and crime.

The poll was of 600 voters who said they definitely or probably would vote on Nov. 4. It was conducted for the AP, the Daily News of Bowling Green, the Lexington Herald-Leader, WDRB-TV of Louisville and WKYT-TV of Lexington, by telephone Tuesday through Thursday. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 4 percentage points.

The Courier-Journal of Louisville, in a Bluegrass Poll to be published today, also found Fletcher up by nine points, 48-39, with 13 percent undecided. That poll, also conducted Tuesday through Thursday, had 712 likely voters and a sampling error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points. Chandler had been about even with Fletcher in a Bluegrass Poll conducted Sept. 19-24.