Dem's gain ground in battleground districts

The first Democracy Corps battleground poll of 70 key congressional districts, half Democratic and half Republican, shows named Democratic congressional candidates "hold on average a 9-point lead in these districts that actually supported the Republican candidate by 1 point in 2006 and President Bush by 8 points in 2004. That means the center of the battlefield has shifted as much since 2006 as it did in the lead up to it."

Key finding: "Democrats enter the 2008 race in a strong position to readily defend their own seats while expanding their 2006 electoral gains. Democratic incumbents hold a significant lead in the battleground districts, winning the congressional vote by 20 points -- 56 to 36 percent.

Obviously, there are some special cases, but the consistency across all types of Democratic seats makes it difficult for the Republicans to find many Democratic targets. Indeed, Democratic incumbents’ electoral advantage is as strong in their most vulnerable districts, those held by freshmen who picked up new seats in 2006, as it is in the least competitive districts."

View the complete survey results .