Republican Bruce Poliquin leads Democrat Emily Cain in the race for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District in the larger of two polls released in their race on Tuesday.

The polls, from Critical Insights and Pan Atlantic SMS Group, two Portland polling firms, are more than two weeks old, but they are the first independent results in the race to be released since late September, when the Portland Press Herald had Poliquin 10 points up on Cain.

Poliquin, a former state treasurer from Oakland, had a five-point lead on Cain, an Orono state senator, in a poll of 295 voters done in late September by Critical Insights.

In that poll, Poliquin had 41 percent of support to Cain’s 36 percent, with independent conservative Blaine Richardson of Belfast drawing 6 percent. However, Cain led Poliquin in Pan Atlantic’s poll, with 36.2 percent of support to 32.7 percent for Poliquin. Richardson got more than 6 percent.

But that Pan Atlantic poll only sampled 144 voters, putting its margin of error above 8 percent. The Critical Insights poll, with a larger sample, has an error margin under 6 percent.

Poliquin campaign manager Matthew Hutson said in a statement that Poliquin’s experience is resonating with voters and that voters are rejecting Cain’s negative ads.

“Maine voters see right through Emily’s false, misleading, personal attack ads and that is why you see him leading in the polls,” he said.

But on Tuesday night after a debate between the candidates in Portland, Cain said she’s fine with her position in the race and said the district wants a congressperson like her who can put aside party ideology.

“That’s the kind of leadership I’m offering, so we feel very good about where we are,” she said.

Michael Shepherd — 370-7652

mshepherd@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @mikeshepherdme