Senate Majority Leader's Fans Are A Minority Back In Nevada Harry Reid vulnerable in 2010 -- has old pol been around too long?
PrintByline: SEAN HIGGINS
As Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, D-Nev., is one of the most powerful politicians in Washington. But recent polls have him trailing likely GOP rivals back home. That won't make passing a Democratic agenda this fall any easier.
Late last month, a Mason-Dixon poll found Reid, who is up for re-election in 2010, behind Danny Tarkanian, a businessman and ex-collegefootball star, 38%-49%. Reid also trailed state GOP Chairwoman Sue Lowden, 40%-45%.
The same poll found Reid's approval rating at just 37%, with 50% holding an unfavorable view.
Mountain West states have become a key battleground in recent years. The Democrats held their 2008 convention in Denver to highlight the region's importance.
Nevada is a swing state, voting for Obama in 2008 and Clinton twice, but for Republicans in all other presidential elections since 1964. Reid's woes suggest Democrats' recent regional gains may be tentative.
Democrats' claim that stimulus spending has boosted the economy may fall on deaf ears in Nevada. State unemployment is 12.5%, third-highest in the nation. The housing crash hit Nevada especially hard. Andmost experts expect sluggish consumer spending for years, which is bad news for Las Vegas.
Familiarity Breeds Contempt
But Jon Ralston, a Las Vegas Sun columnist, says Reid's real problem is that voters are weary of him. He's been a fixture of Nevada politics for nearly 40 years. He was first elected to the Senate in 1986.
"Part of it is what I call "Reid fatigue.' He has been in public office off and on for decades and he is a very polarizing figure," Ralston said. "He's not really liked outside of southern Nevada."
Reid's testy relationship with some folks back home was seen during a recent appearance before the state's Chamber of Commerce.
Introduced to an employee of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Reid reportedly said: "I hope you go out of business." The Review-Journal has been critical of Reid in the past.
Spokesman Jon Summers says Reid is ignoring the polls.
The senator "is focused on solutions to the challenges facing Nevada, particularly unemployment," Summers said via e-mail.
He did not respond to a request for comment about the Chamber of Commerce incident. Reid's office told Politico it was "a joke."
Reid's comments often get him in trouble. He has decried Obama -Care protesters as "evil-mongers." Last week he said Sen. Ted Kennedy's death will "help us."
Summers says Reid is focused on health care and clean-energy legislation, arguing that they will benefit Nevadans. The latter will bring "tens of thousands of green jobs" to the state, Summers said.
But in a subsequent press release, Reid pushed back consideration of a comprehensive energy bill, saying he hoped to get around to it "before the end of the year."
The election is still over a year away, and Reid has fought off stiff challenges before. Much depends on the GOP candidate.
If Reid fell, he would be the second Democratic Senate majority leader in a row to lose his seat. South Dakota's Tom Daschle lost his re-election bid in 2004.
The national parties and outside groups poured cash into that race, making it the costliest of the year.
GOP Targets Reid
Senate Republicans are anxious for a repeat, calling Reid one of their top two 2010 targets. (The other is Connecticut's Chris Dodd, another longtime stalwart facing sagging numbers at home.)
"Reid's problem is that he has been there for a long time," said Brian Walsh, spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee. "People know Reid. They just don't like the job he is doing."
Reid has aggressively raised funds, amassing a war chest of $11nearly million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
If nothing else, Republicans hope that fighting to keep his seat will distract Reid from pushing Democrats' agenda through Congress.
"When he is spending so much time on his own re-election . . . that is going to take away from his duties as leader," Walsh said.
There are already signs of it having some effect. In addition to delaying action on energy, Reid told the Nevada Chamber of Commerce that the pro-union "card check" bill was off the table. Health care will dominate lawmakers' time, he said.
