Two polls tell two different stories of who's winning the 36th congressional race between Rep. Mary Bono Mack and Dr. Raul Ruiz.

The Ruiz campaign released results of a poll showing him leading the Congresswoman by 3 points: 46 percent to 43 percent. 

Then, the Bono Mack campaign released the results of another poll showing the incumbent republican leading her democratic challenger by 17 points: 55 percent to 38 percent.    

The Ruiz Campaign claims its poll numbers show the momentum is on his side. The poll conducted by Lake Research Partners conduct the poll which has a sampling error of +/- 4.9%.

Lake Research Partners conducted the poll of 406 likely votes in California's 36th Congressional District by telephone, in English and Spanish, from October 2 - 4, 2012.   Lake Research Partners does polling for a long list of Democrats including Former President Bill Clinton, Vice President Joe Biden and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

A news release from the Ruiz campaign reads:  "The support of so many people throughout the Coachella Valley and our region shows that my message of protecting Medicare benefits, expanding the Middle Class and making sure that we reinvest in our future and economy now is really resonating with voters," said Dr. Ruiz. "Coming off our strong performance and failed smear campaign by Congresswoman Bono Mack, I know that we will continue to see our momentum grow."

The poll showing Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack with a commanding lead was  taken for the campaign by Arthur Finkelstein and Associates. The poll was taken the week of October 9.  

Undecided voters were just over 7 percent, the poll showed. "Our polling has consistently shown Congresswoman Bono Mack with a strong lead despite the unrelenting attacks of Nancy Pelosi's allies and liberal groups," said Marc Troast, political director for the Bono Mack campaign.   "Voters in the 36th District know that Congresswoman Bono Mack has a record of service and leadership and support her by a wide margin."

The poll was of 300 likely voters and has a margin of error of 5.6 percent. The numbers in the current poll are consistent with polling throughout the campaign, Troast said. They are in stark contrast to curious figures released by the Ruiz campaign, he said.