Posted on 07/30/2010 9:54:44 AM PDT by Maelstorm
Sen. Harry Reid and Sharron Angle are locked in a dead heat, says a new poll for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and KLAS-TV, Channel 8 that shows the GOP challenger regaining ground after going on the offensive with a TV ad blaming Reid for Nevada's deep economic troubles.
The high-profile contest with implications for President Barack Obama's agenda promises to be a bare-knuckled fight to the finish as voters decide between Reid's promise that the recovery is coming under Democrats and Angle's call for a new conservative fiscal direction, analysts said.
"This race is always going to be close," said Jennifer Duffy of the Cook Political Report, which judges the contest a toss-up.
"It's a tough race for Reid, and it's also a tough race for Angle. Ultimately, if she wins, it means the race isn't about her; it's about the party in power."
The new survey by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research shows Reid and Angle neck and neck. The Senate majority leader would win 43 percent and Angle 42 percent of support from likely Nevada voters if the election were held now. The margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points on the statewide telephone survey of 625 registered voters taken Monday through Wednesday.
A July 12-14 Mason-Dixon poll showed Reid 7 points ahead of Angle, 44-37. It was the best showing for the four-term incumbent -- and the worst for Angle -- in a head-to-head matchup, according to a series of surveys for the Review-Journal since last year.
Angle's plunge happened after the Reid campaign pounded her in radio and TV ads and near daily attacks after the Tea Party favorite's stunning June 8 primary victory against establishment GOP candidates. The Reid campaign portrayed her as "extreme" and "dangerous," including for wanting to cut federal spending by eliminating agencies such as the education and energy departments.
The former Reno assemblywoman didn't respond to most attacks as her campaign struggled to expand and hire top-tier media and money advisers. They helped her finally go on the air with two ads since mid-July after raising $2.6 million in the last quarter, or more than Reid's $2.4 million.
As a result of the early barrage of attacks, Angle is now nearly as unpopular as Reid.
In the latest poll, both Reid and Angle won "favorable" ratings from 38 percent of voters. Reid was viewed unfavorably by 51 percent -- about where he has been for most of this year -- and Angle is now seen unfavorably by 47 percent. That's 4 percentage points higher than two weeks ago and nearly double what it was in June, just before she won the primary and ran into the Reid buzz saw.
Brad Coker of Mason-Dixon said he expects the race to remain close until late fall now that Angle is ramping up her campaign and as bad economic news continues to hurt Reid.
"At least for the moment, she seems to have stopped the bleeding," Coker said. "Reid had the airwaves to himself for a while, and he drove her numbers down with the advertising. But that didn't necessarily drive his numbers up. There hasn't been a lot of good news to hang his hat on."
Since the last poll, Nevada's record high unemployment jumped to 14.2 percent, something Angle highlights in her first general election ad that notes it was 4.4 percent when Reid became Senate majority leader five years ago. The state also has record high bankruptcy and home foreclosure rates with one in every 15 homes in vote-rich Las Vegas in foreclosure.
Angle's second TV ad shows her speaking with seniors, saying, "Government is not the solution to the problem. Government is the problem."
Reid's positive ads highlight hundreds of clean energy jobs he has helped bring to Nevada. One ad focuses on Reid's efforts to save CityCenter, which directly employs 8,000 workers, by calling banks to ensure continued financing for the $8.5 billion project. One of Reid's negative ads notes that Angle says she wouldn't have made calls to save CityCenter and that a U.S. senator doesn't create jobs.
Despite Reid's efforts, a vast majority of Nevada voters remain unhappy with Democratic leaders and the direction of the country, the poll shows, which hurts his chances of winning come Nov. 2.
Six out of 10 voters think the country is on the wrong track, while more than half disapprove of the job Obama is doing. Four out of 10 think his actions to stabilize the economy are hurting, while three in 10 believe they are improving things.
On Reid's signature new health care law, the new poll shows 52 percent of Nevada voters want it repealed, which Angle and other Republicans want, too. Another 38 are opposed to such an action.
"Voters will not forget that it is Harry Reid who has been in charge of this failed economy, and come November he'll be fired by the voters for being negligent in his role as a U.S. senator," Angle campaign spokesman Jerry Stacy said. "We've got voter intensity on our side. We're just getting started."
“Mo” - (mentum) is on Angle’s side now.
BEST NEWS OF THE WEEK! And through it all, Reid has never been able to get above 45 percent in ANY poll. That is absolutely deadly for incumbents.
Go, Sharron, GO!!
Rebellion is brewing!!
I wonder what the pawn stars people think of reid. We need to get video of chumlee wearing a reid tee-shirt and the old man saying, “chumlee both of you are A** HOLES”
NOW THAT video would go viral! Anyone in vegas that can make that happen?
Conservatives will win this fall and that includes Angle.
Anything Republican wins period.
They back off when the heat is on and then continue the same power grabbing with different language and personalities, codifying their ambitions into law step by step.
Eventually, they accumulate enough power that it really doesn't matter how angry we get. And I think we are almost there.
Wait, I thought Reid said she was "extremist"...? I'm not seeing it...where was the extremism again?
People don’t seem to understand that Reid has all the Chicago scum behind him, they have a vast network of workers and people who will cheat, lie, steal and threaten violence against anyone supporting Angle. Time and again we’ve seen the results of their chicago style politics, don’t underestimate the criminal activities that will put Reid back in the Senate. I’ve researched this issue and have found so much corruption in the Demo Party that being prepared for the onslaught against Angle will get viler and more criminal than we’ve ever seen or can imagine. Remember Florida, Minnesota, New Jersey (not the latest governmental election), the crimes are many and outrageous. The people running all this corruption simply want America destroyed, there is no other goal, we really have an enormous battle with the left, far more dangerous and evil than we could imagine.
We can beat them. They’ve been beaten before. Have faith.
Thanks Maelstorm.
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