Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid announced this morning via email to supporters that he will not seek re-election next year. Despite some signs that he would be the most vulnerable Democrat on the ballot this cycle, Reid has insisted for months that he intended to seek another term. However, an accident in January that caused a serious eye injury caused Reid to reassess what would have been one of the toughest campaigns of his career. No Democrat publicly contemplated the race while Reid was running for re-election so the field (or the party's anointed standard-bearer) may take some time to emerge. While a number of Republicans have been considering the race, others, particularly members of the congressional delegation, had said early in the cycle that they wouldn't run. Now that the seat is open, it wouldn't be a surprise to see some of these Republicans reassess their decisions. Having said that, we don't expect Gov. Brian Sandoval to show new interest in the contest. Republicans' challenge will be to prevent a rerun of 2010 when Tea Party challenger Sharron Angle

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