Poll: GOP Leads Dems in 53 Tough Districts

 The good news continues to pile up for GOP candidates in battleground congressional districts. A new NPR poll shows that Republicans lead Democrats 48 to 44 percent among likely voters in the 53 most competitive congressional districts held by Democrats, The Hill reports.

Those 53 seats are classified as "likely Republican," "lean Republican" or "toss-up" by the non-partisan Cook Political Report.

And the two parties are tied at 45 percent in 33 districts that include the next-most-competitive Democratic-held seats. Those seats are classified as "lean Democratic" by Cook. Meanwhile, Republicans are ahead 49 percent to 42 percent in the 10 Republican-held seats that are most vulnerable.

Given that Republicans need to pick up only 39 seats to take back control of Congress, these numbers are very encouraging.