Barack Obama has taken a slight lead in the Texas race for the Democratic nomination for the first time, a new Belo Texas poll says.

 The poll shows that Obama leads Hillary Clinton by 46 to 45 percent, making the race a statistical dead heat.

  The numbers, however, show that Obama is making up ground quickly, gaining three percentage points since Sunday, while Clinton lost a percentage point in that same period.

 The poll has a 2.8 percent margin of error.

 The poll shows that Clinton continues to do well among Hispanic voters, winning with 61 percent of Hispanic votes to Obama’s 32 percent, while Obama is leading among African-American voters, with 79 percent to Clinton’s 12 percent. White voters are split 50 percent for Clinton and 41 percent for Obama.

  The poll also shows Obama leading in major metropolitan areas, including Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio and Austin, while Clinton leads in the Rio Grande Valley and the rest of the state.

 In the Republican race, John McCain continues to lead Mike Huckabee 2 to 1.