We're inching closer to the Democratic Primary for New York's 24th Congressional District. Candidates Juanita Perez Williams and Dana Balter will square off at the ballot box on June 26th.

And, a new exclusive Spectrum News/Siena Research Institute Poll shows one candidate with an early lead.

Among likely democratic voters polled Juanita Perez Williams leads Dana Balter 45 to 32 percent.

Juanita Perez Williams is a familiar name in the area. She ran unsuccessfully in the Syracuse Mayoral race last year, losing to Ben Walsh in the general election. She announced she would run for the congressional seat last month and has the support of the national Democratic campaign committee.

Dana Balter is an SU professor, and is the candidate endorsed by all four county Democratic committees in the district.

513 democrats were surveyed by Siena.  And despite Perez Williams’ current lead, 23 percent of those polled say they still haven’t decided who to vote for.

 “I would have expected to see a smaller number there, but what that means is that both candidates have room. There are a lot of voters who have not yet made up their mind who are listening to the two candidates and it's important for both campaigns to try to find those undecided voters and make the effort to get them into their camp,” said Siena College Pollster Steven Greenberg.

The challenger will face off in November against incumbent Republican Congressman John Katko. He's held the seat since 2015.

We’re giving you a chance to hear from the Democratic primary candidates themselves, at 7pm Thursday. Juanita Perez Williams and Dana Balter will sit down with Spectrum News Anchor Tammy Palmer, for a half-hour conversation on the issues.​ We’ll also have more insights from our Spectrum News/Siena poll starting at noon on Friday.