Liberals lead in marginal Bentleigh seat Denis Napthine shovels a bit more policy with tradies on the campaign trail in Windsor yesterday. Picture: ROB LEESON Source: News Limited THE Napthine Government has pulled ahead in one of the critical sandbelt seats it needs to retain in order to win a second term, an exclusive Herald Sun/Galaxy poll has found. In the first poll for months to show the Coalition improving its position in a key electorate, Bentleigh voters are poised to re-elect Liberal MP Elizabeth Miller. A two-party preferred result shows the Coalition forging ahead by 52 to 48 per cent. But the Coalition's hope of taking a seat from Labor in the Ballarat region appears to be fading. Results in Buninyong show Labor's Geoff Howard is well ahead, 54 to 46. The poll of the two key seats shows the state election remains a tight race, less than a fortnight from the November 29 D-day. Major parties have begun a negative-ad blitz to try to sway undecided voters, while Premier Denis Napthine and Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews are lavishing marginal voters with expensive promises. How the two key seats measure up. VICTORIA VOTES: State election 2014 news and analysis VICTORIA VOTES: Liberal candidate quits over family violence claims The poll shows a big geographical difference between Victorians" views of Dr Napthine and Mr Andrews. Bentleigh voters believe Dr Napthine would be a better premier by a wide margin - 49 per cent to 28 per cent - but in Buninyong the two leaders are neck and neck at 38 per cent each. Almost a quarter of voters in each seat are undecided on the question of better premier. Lachlan McLaren checks Daniel and Catherine Andrews" footy skills. Bentleigh is held by Ms Miller by a slender 0.8 per cent margin. It was taken from Labor in 2010 by the Liberals along with a swag of other sandbelt seats - Mordialloc, Carrum and Frankston - that helped the Coalition win government. Galaxy Research pollster David Briggs said the Liberal primary vote was at 48 per cent, slightly higher than at the 2010 election. "If the Liberal Party are able to hang on to the seat on polling day, then the election could go down to the wire," he said. The Greens remain on 11 per cent in Bentleigh - the same result as November 2010. Despite the Coalition hitting the lead in Bentleigh, Labor's policy to get rid of 50 level crossings in eight years is far more popular in that area than the $6.8 billion East West Link. One of the Coalition's key public transport policies, for a new underground rail link from South Yarra to Southern Cross, also is failing to cut through. In Buninyong, the Coalition's promise to provide $83 million for the Ballarat Base Hospital is far more popular than boosting local train manufacturing operations or Labor's plan to upgrade Eureka Stadium so it can hold AFL games. Originally published as Napthine takes lead in critical seat