Democratic Rep. Paul Kanjorski's Scranton-based district has been inundated by hundreds of thousands of dollars in outside ads, but not much has changed, according to two new independent polls out this week, and Kanjorski remains behind his Republican opponent.

A Franklin & Marshall poll conducted 10/8-12 among 586 registered voters for a margin of error of +/- 4%. Kanjorski and Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta were tested.

General Election Matchup
(All / Dem / GOP / Ind / Men / Wom)
Barletta.....40 / 23 / 65 / 60 / 44 / 37 (-4 from last, 9/08)
Kanjorski....35 / 52 / 11 / 11 / 31 / 38 (no change)

Obama........46 / 67 / 14 / 29 / 43 / 49
McCain.......37 / 17 / 69 / 49 / 44 / 32

A Research 2000 poll conducted for DailyKos surveyed 400 likely voters from 10/6-8 for a margin of error of +/- 4.9%. Kanjorski and Barletta were tested.

General Election Matchup
(All / Dem / GOP / Ind / Men / Wom)
Barletta.....43 / 15 / 82 / 41 / 46 / 40
Kanjorski....39 / 64 / 8 / 32 / 37 / 41

Obama........47 / 78 / 6 / 45 / 43 / 51
McCain.......43 / 10 / 87 / 46 / 49 / 37

One thing is clear: Kanjorski trails because Democrats just won't coalesce around the twelve-term incumbent.In both polls, Barletta is winning twice the number of Democrats as Kanjorski is winning Republicans.

Democrats and the National Association of Realtors have spent almost $1.9 million on Kanjorski's behalf, making the seat the top recipient of outside spending in the country. But it might take another outside group to weigh in on Kanjorski's behalf to make the real difference: Earlier this week, the National Rifle Association announced they would back the Democrat.

The NRA hasn't been terribly active in House and Senate races so far this year, but if they play a role in the final three weeks, it would help Kanjorski pick up some of the gun-toting voters who have sent him back to Congress so many times.