Democrat Jay Inslee and Republican Rob McKenna are deadlocked in their race for governor, according to results of an independent statewide poll released this morning.

Inslee and McKenna each collected 46 percent in the survey of 500 voters conducted by Strategies 360, the Seattle-based consulting firm founded by Ron Dotzauer of Snohomish.

The poll was conducted Oct. 17-20 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percent

You can read the findings here and the more detailed crosstabs here.

“This race has yet to be won or lost,” Dotzauer said. “Two weeks out, the referee has thrown the ball in the air and I don’t know who’s going to get the tip. We could go into overtime.”

In the Strategies 360 survey, 50 percent of the men backed McKenna while 52 percent of the women chose Inslee. And McKenna is leading Inslee among self-described independents, 56 percent to 32 percent.

This survey is another sign of the tightness of the race. Last week, the KCTS Washington Poll found Inslee and McKenna in a statistical dead heat on the eve of ballots being mailed to voters.

In other poll results, President Barack Obama is leading Mitt Romney by a margin of 52 percent to 39 percent and voters backing measures to allow gay marriage, charter schools and legalized use of marijuana by adults.

Referendum 74, which asks voters to approve or reject the state’s gay marriage, is ahead 55 percent to 38 percent.

Initiative 1240 to legalize charter schools is ahead 51 percent to 34 percent with the measure to legalize marijuana, Initiative 502, leading 54 percent to 38 percent.