Harry Reid got his worst unfavorable rating yet in a Mason-Dixon poll commissioned by the Las Vegas newspaper this week, but the 70-year-old Majority Leader promises he will not be stepping aside to avoid a possible loss, as Sen. Chris Dodd did.
The state needs him, you see:
"I am absolutely running for re-election," said Reid, 70, in a statement. "These are difficult times for Nevada and as the majority leader of the Senate I have been able to take action to address those challenges. But I know there is more work to do to turn our state's economy around and create jobs and I am committed to seeing it through."
Reid plans on using the next 10 months and $25 million to pitch himself to Nevadans again and attack his GOP opponent enough that voters might side with the devil they know. That might be tough considering the gruesome details in this poll:
52 percent had an unfavorable opinion of Reid, 33 percent had a favorable view and another 15 percent said they're neutral. In early December, a Mason-Dixon poll put his unfavorable-favorable rating at 49-38.
All three prospective GOP opponents would beat him in the match-ups Mason-Dixon proposed to respondents:
Sue Lowden, former Nevada Republican Party chairwoman, would get 50 percent of the vote to Reid's 40 percent with 10 percent undecided.
Danny Tarkanian, a businessman and former UNLV basketball star, would gain 49 percent of the vote to Reid's 41 percent.
And Sharron Angle, a former Reno assemblywoman, would get 45 percent of the vote to Reid's 40 percent, a strong showing given her low name recognition statewide -- 42 percent don't know her.