Tom Campbell has opened up a lead over Carly Fiorina and Chuck DeVore in the U.S. Senate race according to the M4Strategies poll for the Small Business Action Committee.

In a survey of 427 high-propensity Republican voters conducted last week, Campbell received 32% of the vote to Fiorina’s 18.5% and DeVore’s 11%.

Campbell jumped from the gubernatorial race to the senate race only two months ago, but has held the top spot in every poll since his entry into the race with the gap widening over time.

Of course, unlike the governor’s campaign, there have been no widespread campaign ads or independent expenditure campaigns launched either for or against any of the candidates. Once the ads start, these poll numbers can change quickly.

This survey was taken after the flap caused by the Fiorina campaign’s You Tube phenomenon of the Demon Sheep attacking Campbell for his stance on tax issues. The poll numbers seem to indicate the Demon Sheep did little damage to Campbell’s standing.

However, the poll was taken before the new furor over Campbell’s connection to a now known terrorist supporter. (See John Wildermuth’s column on this site today for more about that.) Whether that controversy affects the poll numbers will be determined in future surveys.