Former incumbent Yadira Caraveo holds a double-digit lead in the crowded Democratic primary in Colorado’s battleground 8th Congressional District more than a year before voters will pick a nominee to challenge Republican Gabe Evans, an internal poll released Thursday by Caraveo’s campaign shows.

Caraveo, who lost her bid for reelection to Evans last year by a narrow margin, was the choice of 36% of Democratic primary voters polled, with the four other declared and likely candidates in single digits, according to a Public Policy Polling survey conducted last week. Nearly four in 10 voters were undecided.

Covering parts of Adams, Weld and Larimer counties north of the Denver metro area, the closely divided district has been a top target nationally since its creation after the 2020 census and is expected to help determine which party holds the House majority after next year’s election.

Among Caraveo’s potential primary opponents, the poll found state Rep. Manny Rutinel, D-Commerce City, and State Treasurer Dave Young trailing with 8% apiece, followed by state Rep. Shannon Bird, D-Westminster, at 5% and former teachers union president Amie Baca-Oehlert at 4%, with 39% undecided.

Caraveo led Rutinel 51% to 21% in the only head-to-head question in the survey, with 28% undecided. Caraveo, Rutinel and Bird have made their candidacies official in recent months, while Young and Baca-Oehlert are expected to launch their runs next week.

The Democratic polling firm, based in Raleigh, North Carolina, surveyed 467 registered Democrats and unaffiliated voters who said they intended to vote in next year’s Democratic primary, on May 19 and 20, using text message and telephone interviews. The poll had a margin of error of 4.5%.

In a polling memo, PPP’s Cesar Plascencia described Caraveo as the only primary candidate with strong name recognition and high favorability ratings in “an otherwise unknown field.”

The poll found Caraveo was known by 77% of primary voters polled, compared to 30% for Young, 28% for Rutinel, 27% for Rutinel and 23% for Baca-Oehlert.

Among all respondents, the former incumbent was viewed favorably by 56% of likely Democratic primary voters and unfavorably by 21%, with even stronger favorability scores in what the pollster described as key blocs, including seniors, registered Democrats, women and Hispanic voters.

“The relatively large number of undecided voters is driven by voters who are reluctant to pick a candidate without knowing many of the options. A look under the hood shows that Caraveo has a high ceiling and that her lead is likely to grow,” Plascencia said in the memo, adding that Caraveo also has positive favorability ratings among voters who said they were undecided.