1.   Although a number of polls have shown Clinton with a slight lead over Lazio, her aides believe the contest remains volatile.

2.   And early returns showed Ojeda with a slight lead.

3.   As suggested by the chaotic pace of events Wednesday, both sides believe that the race is tight, though polls show Clinton with a slight lead.

4.   As the polls closed four hours earlier, exit poll projections had given a slight lead to Peres.

5.   Ashcroft held a slight lead with roughly half the vote counted.

6.   At tailback, Hackett said junior Malaefou MacKenzie took a slight lead but he and sophomore Sultan McCullough will split time.

7.   At the moment, the players going head to head are BellSouth Mobility and AirTouch, each claiming a slight lead in the market.

8.   At the moment, the race is close, with opinion polls showing Thaksin with a slight lead.

9.   A cursory observation of the absentee ballot-count seemed to reflect the overall voting patterns in Brooklyn, with Sharpton taking a slight lead over Ms. Messinger.

10.   A poll in the battleground state of Ohio, where Bush was campaigning Thursday, showed Bush with a slight lead but in a statistical tie with Gore.