As Jim Geraghty reported yesterday afternoon on NRO’s The Campaign Spot, new polls are out for some of the nation’s most watched Congressional races. Whit Ayres, a Republican pollster and co-founder of Resurgent Republic, is behind the polls. His firm has done work for many, including Bill Frist, Lamar Alexander, and Lindsay Graham.

The Pennsylvania research covered four particularly competitive districts:

Pennsylvania 3: Despite challenger Mike Kelly having just 62 percent name recognition, he leads Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper by a 52 to 38 percent margin.
Pennsylvania 10: Despite challenger Tom Marino having just 59 percent name recognition compared to Rep. Chris Carney’s 94 percent name recognition, Marino leads on the ballot by a 52 to 37 percent margin.
Pennsylvania 11: Challenger Lou Barletta’s 93 percent name recognition is very similar to Rep. Paul Kanjorski’s 96 percent, and Barletta holds a 52 to 41 percent lead on the ballot.
Pennsylvania 12: Challenger Tim Burns’s 84 percent name recognition is almost identical to Rep. Mark Critz’s 82 percent, and Burns leads on the ballot by a slim 44 to 40 percent margin.

The Dahlkemper race is one to watch, if for no other reason than that she’s vulnerable as a first-time blue-dog Democrat. A pro-guns, pro-life Catholic in Erie, Dahlkemper also played to the demographics of her district in supporting card-check, or the Employee Free Choice Act. If Mike Kelly maintains his lead, it could signal serious danger for blue-dogs elsewhere.

Marino’s lead over Carney is wide, but Carney dominates Marino at the bank to the tune of more than half a million. This race is closer than it looks, and depending on fundraising numbers heading into November, this could become even hotter.

Lou Barletta, meanwhile, is staging his third congressional bid this cycle, and if there’s ever been a year to retire Paul Kanjorski, the epitome of the crusty incumbent, this is it.

The Burns-Critz race, dead even at best, will stay hot. Critz assumed office in a special election after the death of his former boss, John Murtha. If this district is anything, it’s predictable in rewarding those who will bring home the bacon. This could be a factor in breaking this race open.

Related: Hot Air covers a factor that’s undoubtedly helping buoy challengers in each of these races: “GOP out to biggest generic ballot leads in history in both Gallup and Rasmussen.”