Freshman Rep. Harry Teague (D) trails former Rep. Steve Pearce (R) in an internal poll commissioned by the Republican’s campaign.

Pearce tops Teague 48 percent to 44 percent in the survey of likely voters conducted Feb. 16-18 by the Tarrance Group. That spread was within the poll’s 4.9-point margin of error.

The survey essentially reinforces what political observers have known for a while: The 2nd district contest is going to be a barnburner.

However, a result within the margin of error indicates that neither candidate starts with an advantage.