After a year of bad news, bad polls, and bad political conditions for Democratic Sen. Harry Reid, Democrats and other political observers all of a sudden say they think the Nevada lawmaker will win this week.
"He will hold on," Jon Ralston wrote Sunday for the Las Vegas Sun. Ralston suggested that the flaws of Republican nominee Sharron Angle combined with Democratic turnout efforts and Reid's own resilience mean that the senate majority leader is favored to win on Tuesday.
In addition, early turnout numbers are better for Democrats, according to Ralston.
"Republicans do not have the huge turnout advantage in early voting they should in a wave election — under 4 points. And all the data I have seen tell me that unless Reid loses independents by 15 points or so, he will hold on," Ralston wrote.
In just the last several days, turnout figures in Nevada have given Democrats and Reid's own campaign newfound hope.
"We're not seeing any kind of enthusiasm gap whatsoever," Phoebe Sweet, communications director for the Nevada Democratic Party, told The Hill based on her reading of early voting figures.
Republican voters outnumbered Democrats in the first week of early voting in Nevada. But Democrats surged in the second week.
Last week's CNN-Time poll showed Angle with a four point lead in the race, which also features tea party candidate Scott Ashjian. Angle, who has national tea party support, earlier this fall asked Ashjian to exit the race for fear he would act as a spoiler.
(Photo: AP/Isaac Brekken)
Edited by Andrew Golis
Edited by Jade Walker
Edited by Ben Patterson
