Local
Is Reid stronger in the Senate than back home in Nevada?
By: Susan Ferrechio
Chief Congressional Correspondent
February 1, 2009
Since winning his Senate seat in 1986, Majority Leader Harry Reid has faced some difficult re-election challenges, and his 2010 bid could be another.
The only Republican running so far is under criminal indictment, but even without a top-flight candidate, the GOP has put a bull’s-eye on Reid.
One conservative group has formed a political action committee aimed at ending Reid’s Senate career and has started a Web site called Watchin’ Reid that hammers away at the perceived missteps of the majority leader.
The goal of the site is not just to highlight Reid’s gaffes “but to demonstrate that he’s taking the Senate down a much more liberal path that does not line up with the rest of the country,” said Tim Albrecht, a spokesman for the American Future Fund, which operates the site.
Nevada is a tough state to peg politically. After a decadelong boom, the state’s economy is in the doldrums, with an unemployment rate of 9.1 percent, fifth-worst in the country behind Michigan, Rhode Island, South Carolina and California. As a result, the influx of new residents, which swelled the state’s population, has ground to a halt.
After voting for Bush in 2000 and 2004, Nevada broke for Obama 55 percent to John McCain’s 43 percent. Republicans ran strongly in some local races, though, and Nevada has historically been considered a red state.
Like many of his constituents, Reid is somewhat conservative on social issues. He backs pro-life and pro-gun legislation and is wary of imposing environmental restrictions that could hinder the state’s mining industry.
Reid’s incumbent advantage could be offset by the state’s economic woes and the the decline in immigration.
He is also handicapped by his legendary lack of charisma, which makes it difficult for him to connect with voters who don’t know him. He is not personally popular in his home state, as evidenced by a recent poll putting his approval rating at 38 percent.
“His negative ratings are always really high,” University of Nevada political science professor David Herzik said. “Part of it is personality. He doesn’t work a crowd very well.”
Keenly aware of his shortcomings, Reid has already laid the groundwork for his re-election bid.
Last year he succeeded in advancing Nevada’s Democratic presidential caucus from mid-February to Jan. 19. The earlier contest galvanized interest in the presidential race, prompting tens of thousands of new voters to register as Democrats.
Now Harry Reid is counting on those freshly minted Democrats to pull the lever for him in November 2010.
The only Republican running so far is under criminal indictment, but even without a top-flight candidate, the GOP has put a bull’s-eye on Reid.
One conservative group has formed a political action committee aimed at ending Reid’s Senate career and has started a Web site called Watchin’ Reid that hammers away at the perceived missteps of the majority leader.
The goal of the site is not just to highlight Reid’s gaffes “but to demonstrate that he’s taking the Senate down a much more liberal path that does not line up with the rest of the country,” said Tim Albrecht, a spokesman for the American Future Fund, which operates the site.
Nevada is a tough state to peg politically. After a decadelong boom, the state’s economy is in the doldrums, with an unemployment rate of 9.1 percent, fifth-worst in the country behind Michigan, Rhode Island, South Carolina and California. As a result, the influx of new residents, which swelled the state’s population, has ground to a halt.
After voting for Bush in 2000 and 2004, Nevada broke for Obama 55 percent to John McCain’s 43 percent. Republicans ran strongly in some local races, though, and Nevada has historically been considered a red state.
Like many of his constituents, Reid is somewhat conservative on social issues. He backs pro-life and pro-gun legislation and is wary of imposing environmental restrictions that could hinder the state’s mining industry.
Reid’s incumbent advantage could be offset by the state’s economic woes and the the decline in immigration.
He is also handicapped by his legendary lack of charisma, which makes it difficult for him to connect with voters who don’t know him. He is not personally popular in his home state, as evidenced by a recent poll putting his approval rating at 38 percent.
“His negative ratings are always really high,” University of Nevada political science professor David Herzik said. “Part of it is personality. He doesn’t work a crowd very well.”
Keenly aware of his shortcomings, Reid has already laid the groundwork for his re-election bid.
Last year he succeeded in advancing Nevada’s Democratic presidential caucus from mid-February to Jan. 19. The earlier contest galvanized interest in the presidential race, prompting tens of thousands of new voters to register as Democrats.
Now Harry Reid is counting on those freshly minted Democrats to pull the lever for him in November 2010.
