Hoping against hope: Reid in trouble in NV?
Could defeat be in the cards for the the Senate Majority Leader? A new poll suggests trouble on the horizon (via Memeorandum):
CARSON CITY — Nearly half of Nevadans have had enough of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid as the powerful Democrat heads into his re-election campaign, a new Las Vegas Review-Journal poll finds.
About a third of the state’s voters would re-elect Reid if the 2010 election were held today, according to the poll, but 45 percent say they would definitely vote to replace him. Seventeen percent would consider another candidate.
The findings are echoed by another poll question about Reid’s popularity that finds the four-term incumbent to be a polarizing figure in his home state.
Half of Nevada voters had an unfavorable view of Reid, while 38 percent had a favorable view and 11 percent a neutral opinion.
The statewide poll of 625 Nevadans who vote regularly was conducted by telephone last week by Washington-based Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc. for the Review-Journal. It carries a margin of error of 4 percentage points in either direction.
Reid’s approval ratings at home have been subpar for years, particularly since he ascended to Democratic leader in 2004 and to majority leader in 2006.
He had hoped things might improve with the departure of President George W. Bush, but that’s not the case, at least not yet. The poll finds Nevadans are bullish on President Barack Obama even as they are unhappy with Reid.
Of course, it’s too early to be able to reasonably predict what will happen with Reid next year during the general election, but the numbers do suggest an opening for a potential GOP candidate to take advantage of. The only question is: What will the name of that GOP candidate be?
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