PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Former U.S. Senator Lincoln Chafee continues to be the favorite in the 2010 governor's race, leading his closest rival by 11 percentage points, according to a new Rasmussen poll released Monday.

The automated telephone poll of 500 likely voters found that in a matchup with Democrat Frank T. Caprio and Republican John Robitaille, 39 percent would vote for Chafee, who is running as an independent, with 28 percent voting for Caprio and 22 percent for Robitaille.

In a matchup with Democrat Patrick Lynch and Robitaille, 37 percent said they would vote for Chafee, with 22 percent voting for Lynch and 26 percent for Robitaille.

The numbers are similar to those from a Rasmussen poll conducted in February, which found that 37 percent would vote for Chafee in a matchup with Caprio and Robitaille, while 38 percent would vote for Chafee in a matchup with Lynch and Robitaille.

The latest poll was conducted on March 25 and has a margin of sampling error of 4.5 percentage points.