Dean leads Democratic pack in Pa., holding Bush under 50 percent

Presidential hopeful Howard Dean is pulling ahead of the Democratic pack among Pennsylvania voters and is the only candidate to keep President Bush under the crucial 50 percent mark, according to a poll released Wednesday.

The Quinnipiac University poll shows Dean, the former Vermont governor, holding a double-digit lead over his closest Democratic rival in the Keystone State - the nation's fifth-largest electoral prize. Dean nabbed 28 percent of the 1,092 registered voters surveyed, compared to 17 percent for Sen. Joe Lieberman and 10 percent for Rep. Dick Gephardt.

Former Gen. Wesley Clark collected 9 percent, and Sen. John Kerry had 7 percent, the poll showed. Two months ago, Dean held a mere 5 percent of support among state voters.