HOUSTON -- If the presidential election were held today, President George W. Bush would, not surprisingly, soundly take his home state of Texas, Local 2 reported Monday.

But Harris County voters are in a statistical dead heat, according to an exclusive Local 2 Flashpoll conducted by SurveyUSA.

The poll asked 1,000 people across Texas, "If the election for president of the United States were today and you were standing in the voting booth right now, who would you vote for? The choices were Republican President George W. Bush, Democratic Sen. John Kerry or another candidate.

In Harris County, 50 percent said they would vote for President George W. Bush, while 47 percent said they would vote for Sen. John Kerry. With a margin of error of 3.7 percent, the results make Harris County a statistical tie, according to pollsters.

In statewide results, with 705 likely presidential voters polled, Bush holds a 21-point lead, with 58 percent of voters choosing Bush compared to 37 percent for Kerry.

In the Texas Panhandle, which included Dallas-area voters, Bush leads two-to-one, with 62 percent over Kerry's 34 percent.

In East Texas, which includes Austin and San Antonio, Bush also leads two-to-one, with 63 percent for Bush and 33 percent for Kerry.

In West Texas, Kerry leads by 22 points, with 58 percent over Bush's 36 percent. But this part of Texas only has 9 percent of the state's total voters, according to SurveyUSA.

In the 2000 presidential election, Bush carried Texas by a 21-point lead.