Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s problems are well-documented. The state’s economy is suffering greatly. Unemployment is at 13 percent, tourism is way down, and Nevada ranks among the states with the highest percentage of foreclosures. Reid’s job as Majority Leader means that voters see him in a more partisan light as he works to push President Obama’s legislative agenda through the Senate. It would also seem that voters just don’t like him, something that shows up in polling in the form of high unfavorable ratings, but the reasons for it aren’t entirely obvious.
Reid has been lagging in the polls almost since the start of the race. According to the pollster.com trend lines, Reid’s favorable/unfavorable ratings are 35 percent to 54 percent, while his job numbers average 39-percent approve to 57-percent disapprove.
Reid is a prolific fundraiser and finished 2009 with nearly $8.7 million in the bank. He has spent nearly $2 million on television advertising, but it hasn’t produced any improvement in his poll numbers.
Republicans have a crowded primary. The frontrunners are former state party chair Sue Lowden
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