 There was some speculation that Hsing, a Republican councilman in Bridgewater, might act as a spoiler by taking Republican votes away from Lance.The Democratic Party directly tried to take advantage of Hsing's conservatism by sending out direct mail attacking Lance's conservative credentials in order to divert Republican voters to Hsing.However, an internal poll conducted by Stender's campaign in late October showed that Lance was leading in the race by four points.