Two new independent polls show progressive Democrats lagging their Republican-incumbent rivals in two red-leaning congressional districts.

The new polls show California Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter, the Californian recently indicted for misuse of campaign funds, and Nebraska Republican Rep. Don Bacon with significant leads over their Democratic opponents that upset more moderate candidates in primaries.

Hunter leads Democrat Ammar Campa-Najjar, who previously worked at the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and former Department of Labor official, by 15 points among likely voters in a new poll by Monmouth University. Hunter is ahead of Campa-Najjar by a margin of 53 percent to 38 percent.

The Democrat performs better when the poll is examined under two different turnout models, but he still lags. Hunter leads Campa-Najjar by 9 points both among all voters as well as with a projected turnout surge.

Voters are split about Hunter's guilt—he's been accused of  spending more than $250,000 of his campaign funds on personal use, allegations he's repeatedly denied.

Thirty-nine percent of likely voters believe that Hunter is definitely or probably guilty, while 21 percent say he is definitely or probably not guilty.

Ten percent of those that believe Hunter is guilty are supporting his reelection.

In Nebraska, a New York Times/Siena College poll finds Bacon leading non-profit head Kara Eastman by 9 points, with the incumbent garnering 51 percent to Eastman's 42 percent among likely voters.

Battles between moderate Democrats and progressives were a key fixture of Democratic primaries, as competing factions within the party argued about the best way to win back GOP-held seats. One side believes that the path to victory runs through more moderate candidates that can appeal to the middle, while the other argues that progressive candidates will mobilize the party's base and the authenticity will bring others along too.

Both these districts have been reaches to some degree for Democrats—President Trump won Hunter's district by 15 points and Bacon's by 3 points in 2016 respectively. 

Democrats had initially been bullish on flipping the Nebraska seat, with moderates lined up behind former Democratic Rep. Brad Ashford. Eastman scored a major upset by defeating Ashford in a major victory for progressives, but one that Republicans have since used to argue she's too liberal for the district. 

A Democratic victory in Hunter's seat had always been seen as a tougher battle considering the hard GOP lean. Establishment Democrats had been pushing for former Navy SEAL Josh Butner in the primary, but Butner lost to the more progressive Campa-Najjar. Hunter's indictment could provide Democrats with a better shot in that district, but the poll suggests the Democrat still needs to close the gap.