In what is currently a difficult political climate for Democrats, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid trails two potential Republican challengers seeking to unseat him as he faces reelection next year in Nevada.The first Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey of the 2010 race shows Sue Lowden beating Reid by 10 percentage points, 50% to 40%. Lowden is chairwoman of the Nevada Republican Party and the preferred candidate of the Republican party establishment.
GOP hopeful Danny Tarkanian beats Reid by seven points, 50% to 43%. Tarkanian is a former basketball player for the University of Nevada-Las Vegas and the son of a legendary college basketball coach.
Any incumbent who polls below the 50% level is considered potentially vulnerable, and Reid is clearly in that category. Likely to help him somewhat, however, are the problems the state GOP is experiencing, with a highly unpopular governor and the state's other senator, John Ensign, forced to disclose an extramartial affair.