The first results of the KCTS 9 Washington poll indicate that the candidates for Washington State governor are in a dead heat with Jay Inslee at 47.9 percent and Rob McKenna at 44.7 percent.

Voters are leaning toward approving Referendum 74, legalizing same sex marriage, and Initiative 502, legalizing marijuana.

Incumbent U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell has a comfortable 58.3 percent, while her opponent Michael Baumgartner  has 34.8 percent.

President Barack Obama is leading with 51.8 percent to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s 41.3 percent in Washington State.

The KCTS 9 Washington Poll is a comprehensive, scientific poll covering the major races and issues on the ballot. Polling for the KCTS 9 Washington Poll was conducted between Oct. 1–16. The poll sampled 782 registered voters and has a +/- 3.5 percent margin of error.

University of Washington (UW) professor Matt A. Barreto is the director of the KCTS 9 Washington Poll. The poll is implemented at the Center for Survey Research at the UW, a research center in the Department of Political Science, under the director of professor Christopher Parker.

The poll is conducted among registered voters, using a Washington state voter list, and telephone interviewing is administered by live callers, calling both landlines and cell phones.

Here are some of the KCTS 9 Washington Poll highlights:

U.S. President

Barack Obama (D)              51.8%

Mitt Romney (R)                 41.3%

Gary Johnson (L)                  1.3%

Jill Stein (G)                         0.3%

Other                                 1.4%

Undecided                           3.9%

Washington Governor

Jay Inslee (D)                    47.9%

Rob McKenna (R)                44.7%

Undecided                           7.4%

U.S. Senate – Washington

Maria Cantwell (D)              58.3%

Michael Baumgartner (R)     34.8%

Undecided                           6.9%

Referendum 74 – Marriage Equality

Yes                                  56.3%

No                                   35.6%

Undecided                           6.1%

Initiative 502 – Legalizing and Regulating Marijuana

Yes                                  50.9%

No                                   40.8%

Undecided                           8.3%

Initiative 1185 – 2/3 Majority to Raise Taxes

Yes                                  53.6%

No                                   31.2%

Undecided                         15.2%

Initiative 1240 – Charter Schools

Yes                                  47.5%

No                                   39.2%

Undecided                         13.3%

For complete KCTS 9 Washington Poll results including information about the issues that are important to Washington state voters visit www.washingtonpoll.org or KCTS9.org/vote2012.