Columbia University Democrats

Hey Columbia Dems,

Before your utterly brilliant board members Bridgit and Matt start discussing the Nevada Senate race today, we would like to air one grievance we have noticed lately. Does anyone else think that it is utterly ridiculous that pundits are saying that it is possible for Republicans to regain the Senate? After looking briefly at RealClearPolitics, it appears that in order for the Republicans to do the unthinkable, they would have to win every single toss up race, every lean Democrat race, and then take California away from Barbara Boxer. Would that ever happen? Of course not! The media is overreacting to a big load of nothing, and it is very frustrating for your bloggers to listen to.

Moving on to our topic of the day, Harry Reid’s fight to keep his seat representing Nevada. Reid is currently the Senate Majority leader, stepping into that role in January 2007, when the Democrats swept back into the majority following a huge victory in the 2006 elections. Previous to that, he had been the Minority Leader since 2005, taking Tom Daschle position when he lost. Reid is currently running for a fifth term, having represented Nevada since 1987. Reid has only had one close election, that being in 1998 when he faced a stiff challenge from John Ensign, now the junior Senator from Nevada. Reid also has a history of gaining Republicans’ support in the state, having garnered several key endorsements from the opposition party during his reelection bid in 2004.

This election, however, appears to be moving in a different direction. Anger over the current direction of Congress, shaped by President Obama’s ideas, have generated anger in Nevada and led to a very anti-liberal feeling in the state. Reid, being the head of the Democrats in the Senate, is therefore seen as representative of all of it, and is an easy target for attacks. The Republican primary is chock full of characters, with 12 people having filed for the June 8th primary. However, two candidates, Danny Tarkanian and Sue Lowden, appear to be the only legitimate candidates, with just a couple percentage points  separating the two. Tarkanian is a real estate owner and former UNLV basketball player, who has run for public office twice in the state of Nevada (both races ended in defeat for him). Lowden is the current Nevada state Republican Chairwoman and a former state senator, representing Democratic-leaning Clark County.

There has not been a recent poll showing voters’ opinions regarding the Republican primary. As such, we can only wait until the primary, which figures to be hotly contested, to see who Senator Reid needs to fight. Current polls have Reid losing to Tarkanian by an average of 8.7%, and losing to Lowden by 8.8%. However, the most recent poll regarding both possible opponents has Reid closing the gap on both. In addition, Reid has an incredible amount of money, with $8.7 million in his war chest, destroying the next closest GOP candidate John Chachas (who isn’t even a legitmate candidate)  by $7 million. In addition, the DSSC has obliterated the NRSC in campaign fundraising over the last few election cycles, though the Republicans matched the Democrats in monetary donations for the first time in over two years last month. With their leader on the line, we expect the DSSC to have a fundraising blitz in Nevada, no doubt aided by President Obama, who as we all know, had the most successful grassroots fundraising campaign of all time. In any case, it is likely that Reid will be able to outspend his opponent, whoever that might be in November.

Many political websites, as of today, have the Nevada Senate election billed as either a toss up or a leaning Republican race. However, these polls are very preliminary, and without the potential effects of heavy Democratic spending in the state, we would hesitate to write off Majority Leader Reid. It is these two bloggers sincere hope and belief that Senator Reid will be reelected, and continue to guide the Senate.

Next Week: Kentucky (Can we win in a traditionally Republican state?)

I don’t always get political, but when I do, I prefer the Democrats. Stay liberal my friends.