Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) trails Republican Danny Tarkanian by double digits, according to a new poll released Sunday.
Tarkanian, the former University of Nevada-Las Vegas basketball star and son of the school’s longtime basketball coach, leads Reid 49 percent to 38 percent, with 13 percent undecided.
Prospective challenger Sue Lowden, the state GOP chairwoman, also leads Reid in a head-to-head matchup, 45 percent to 40 percent, with 15 percent undecided.
The poll, conducted Aug. 17 and 18 by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, surveyed 400 Nevada registered voters and had a 6-percentage-point margin of error.
Reid’s favorability ratings remained dangerously low, with 37 percent viewing him favorably compared with 50 percent who viewed the four-term senator unfavorably. In July, the same poll showed 34 percent viewed him favorably and 47 percent viewed him unfavorably.
National Republican operatives, who have not been enthusiastic about Tarkanian’s candidacy, recruited Rep. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) for the 2010 Senate race. but Heller declined to run in early August. The poll tested Heller against Reid and reported that Heller held a 50 percent to 40 percent advantage, with 10 percent undecided.
Heller, a two-term congressman, was previously elected to three terms as Nevada secretary of state.
Tarkanian, who currently runs a real estate business, lost a 2004 race for state Senate and a 2006 bid to succeed Heller as secretary of state. He recently won a court victory on defamation charges against his state Senate opponent, who accused him of bad business practices during the campaign. - Politico
No comments:
Post a Comment