Gov. Scott McCallum got a needed boost in his campaign for reelection Thursday. A new survey shows McCallum is ahead in November’s gubernatorial race.

McCallum has a slight edge on Democratic Attorney General Jim Doyle and U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett, D-Wis.

Wisconsin Public Radio and St. Norbert College Survey Center polled 400 people and found if the general election were held today, McCallum would be ahead of other candidates.

The poll also found that of the four Democrats competing for the party’s nomination for governor, Doyle and Barrett may have the best chance of winning the Sept. 10 primary.

Doyle and Barrett have more support than Dane County Exec. Kathleen Falk and state Sen. Gary George, D-Milwaukee. More than half of those polled don’t support any of the four Democrats.

McCallum faced widespread criticism from local officials over his proposal to eliminate $1 billion in shared revenue to local governments to help ease the state’s budget deficit.

In the past two weeks, McCallum has made changes in his office and campaign staffs but insists the campaign is going well.

However, in the race between McCallum and Doyle, the percentage lead McCallum has over Doyle is within the margin of error of the survey.

There is no statistically significant difference between the two candidates. The survey placed candidates against one another in hypothetical pairings. When McCallum was pitted against the other Democratic Party candidates, McCallum appeared to be ahead.

Candidates were also measured by “favorable” and “unfavorable” ratings. Here, Doyle was rated the highest, with 36 percent of respondents saying they had a favorable impression of him, compared to McCallum’s 31 percent.

Eighteen percent of respondents said they had an unfavorable opinion of Doyle compared to 35 percent of respondents saying they had an unfavorable opinion of McCallum.