Sen. Reid Already in Battle for 2010 Reelection
Reid currently trails two Republican challengers, Danny Tarkanian and Sue Lowden, in a general election match-up, according to a Mason Dixon Polling survey released by the Las Vegas Review Journal. The statewide poll of 400 registered voters shows Tarkanian, a real estate professional and former UNLV basketball player, beating Reid 49 percent to 38 percent. Voters polled also preferred state Republican Party Chairwoman Lowden over Reid, 45 percent to 40 percent.
The poll indicates that Reid's leadership position may be a double-edged sword for the senator, who is seeking his fifth term.
"Senator Reid's leadership for Nevada has earned him broad support, including from nearly 150 Republican leaders in Nevada who recognize that he is a powerful voice for Nevada," Reid spokesman Jon Summers told the Review Journal.
On the other hand, Richard Davis, a professor of political science at Brigham Young University, told the newspaper that winning "becomes more difficult when you are actually the one having to carry the water for the president."
CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris said that voters may think Reid has put national priorities over statewide interests.
"Clearly, based on these polls there's a sense that Reid not might be in step with what voters are thinking there," he said. "Being in the national news as often as he is only amplifies that."
Similarly, in 2004, then-Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota fell victim to his association with national politics and lost his seat to Republican John Thune.
Chaggaris pointed out, however, that Thune had already won a statewide race, and was well-funded and better known than Reid's potential challengers.
"Reid does have an opportunity to recover," Chaggaris said. "This is August 2009, and these are people who are not necessarily political veterans nor are necessarily people of Reid's stature statewide."
However, he said, Reid and the Democratic party should look carefully at Reid's approval ratings.
Fifty percent of voters have an unfavorable view of Reid, according to the Mason Dixon poll, compared to just 37 percent with a favorable opinion. President Obama's favorable rating among Nevada voters also fell to 44 percent, while his unfavorable rating increased to 43 percent. By contrast, Mr. Obama won the state of Nevada in the 2008 presidential race with 55 percent of the vote.
"Clearly, there's some sort of disconnect with what happened in November among voters in Nevada, who overwhelmingly went for Obama and are now saying to Reid that they're not in agreement with what these guys are doing," Chaggaris said.
It appears as if the party is taking notice. Mr. Obama headlined a fundraiser for Reid in Nevada in late May. So far, the only other Democrats the president has campaigned for are gubernatorial candidates Creigh Deeds of Virginia and Jon Corzine of New Jersey, who are both competing in 2009 elections.
Reid's spokesman Summers told the Review Journal that the senator will focus on delivering new jobs and lower health care costs to Nevada voters.
"He fights for Nevada on those issues and others every day and he'll continue that battle to get our economy back on track," Summers said.