Leftist's lead grows ahead of Mexico presidential vote: poll

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican left-wing presidential frontrunner Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador extended his lead to 19 percentage points in May, according to the latest poll published by Ipsos on Thursday. The survey, taken between May 11 and May 15, showed Lopez Obrador, a former Mexico City mayor, had 43 percent of support, up from 36.6 percent in a prior poll published in March. In second place with 24 percent was Ricardo Anaya, a one-time leader of the center-right National Action Party (PAN), who fronts the challenge of a right-left coalition. His support grew slightly from 22.7 percent. Jose Antonio Meade, running for the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, had 16 percent. Independent Jaime Rodriguez held 2 percent of support. The results broadly follow other major polls that show Lopez Obrador's support growing and his rivals showing little sign of catching up. The face-to-face poll of 1,000 people also included independent candidate Margarita Zavala, who dropped out of the race on Wednesday. The margin of error was 3.1 percentage points and 14 percent expressed no preference. (Reporting by Dave Graham; Writing by Christine Murray; Editing by Sandra Maler)