NORTH LAS VEGAS — Four years ago in this sprawling desert town, a powerful labor union abruptly withdrew its endorsement of Republican Mayor Mike Montandon.
The reason, relayed to Montandon by a top union official: “Harry told us to.”
Harry Reid’s power is the stuff of legend in Nevada. But as the Senate majority leader prepares for his 2010 reelection run, voters back home are beginning to ask what’s in it for them.
Nevada’s unemployment rate is 12.7 percent, 3 percentage points higher than the national average. Las Vegas has the highest foreclosure rate of any big city in the country. And economic forecasters are sounding the alarm about an impending crash in the state’s commercial real estate market.
It’s all taking a toll on Reid. While Reid may be at the peak of his power in Washington, a Daily Kos/Research 2000 poll out earlier this month showed him trailing two potential GOP challengers. And Reid’s in-state approval rating stands at just 36 percent — statistically indistinguishable from the 35 percent approval rating of his adulterous Republican colleague, Sen. John Ensign.
Reid dismisses the polling, complaining that reporters “run to it like it’s sugar coming from some place.” But he admits he’s not “boasting” about his own private polls — which Democratic sources say show him with just single-digit leads over his likely GOP challengers — and his campaign is looking like the work of a man running to save his career. - Politico Story
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