Nevada’s Costly, Photo-Finish Senate Race Pits Abortion vs. Economy
By Matt Pearce
The two-year election campaign between Democratic Senator Harry Reid and Republican challenger Sharron Angle has unfolded with its share of the usual features of campaign life, with most of these going down to the wire. But unlike the usual campaign drama, though, this race has been a bit more interesting than the norm, with the two candidates’ narratives taking center stage.
Early in the primary campaign, both candidates appeared to be at the front of the pack, with the election viewed as a battle between one Republican and one Democrat.
But now, with just two weeks until the first balloting, Reid takes a big lead in public polling and the race is all but certain to go to a runoff. According to CBS News, Reid has a double-digit lead in fundraising, while Angle has pulled in just $1,500 in his own campaign account.
In political polls, Reid has a commanding lead over Angle, with Reid at 40%, Angle at 34% and three percent undecided, while Reid leads among independents by 18 points, Angle by only seven points, and Reid has a clear lead among women, with Angle trailing by a nine-point margin, 49% to 43% amongst those women. Reid leads among all voters by 16%, Angle by only 13%. Reid also leads among men by 34 percentage points, Angle by 26 and Angle has a ten-point lead amongst those men, 54% to 41%.
In terms of demographic breakdown, Reid leads among white voters 76-24%, Angle among black voters 68-25% and Reid trails among Hispanics, 60-31%, but Angle leads in the college-educated and the under-25. With the exception of Hispanic voters, Reid leads in all of these demographic groups and Angle does better among them than either Reid or many in the Republican primary. Reid has a double-digit lead among college graduates, 62% to Angle’s 38%. Reid has a 15-point lead among voters under age 35, Angle 45%. The only demographic where Angle has a lead is with 18-34 year olds, 26-24 percent and among those over 75, Angle 45-35%.
In the race for Senate, Reid is campaigning on his record as the leader of the Democrats in the Senate
