It's David vs. Goliath in the Seventh District congressional race, but Lee Byberg sees a glimmer of hope in his quest to oust ten-term incumbent Rep. Collin Peterson -- at least in his campaign's internal polling.

Political analysts across the state say Byberg is more than a longshot to threaten Peterson's seat this fall, but the Willmar Republican's campaign is pointing to a new poll they find encouraging.

Earlier this month, Byberg hired veteran GOP pollster Glen Bolger at Public Opinion Strategies to survey the district. Bolger's findings came in the form of a 300-person telephone survey with a +/-5.66% margin of error (a bit on the high side).

The poll shows that 39 percent of voters feel Peterson should be re-elected, 36 say it is time for a new representative and 23 percent are unsure.

Peterson still holds an overwhelming lead on the ballot, however, at just over 50 percent -- double digits ahead of Byberg.

Among voters who have heard of both candidates, Byberg trails by seven points (27 percent Byberg / 34 percent Peterson).

But that name recognition is seriously lagging: Byberg spokester Dave Thompson said that only 18 percent of those polled knew of his candidate.

Paula O'Loughlin, a political science professor at the University of Minnesota-Morris, said Byberg has a lot of work ahead of him for this poll to carry any weight.

"One of the biggest factor limiting challengers traditionally is name recognition," O'Loughlin said. "Byberg doesnt have it."

The take-away? It's a campaign-commissioned poll with a high margin of error, but Byberg is making more strides to shake Peterson that other challengers in recent years.