Angle: Reid got rich in the Senate (updated)

Nevada Republican Sharron Angle accused Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) of getting rich on the government payroll during their debate at the PBS studios in Las Vegas on Thursday.

"You came from Searchlight to the Senate with very little," she said. "Now you're one of the richest men in the U.S. Senate. On behalf of Nevada taxpayers, I'd like to know, we'd like know, why did you become so wealthy on a government payroll?"

Reid, who isn't among the 50 most wealthy in Congress, called that a "low blow."

"I think most everyone knows, I was a very successful lawyer. I did a very good job of investing. I've been on a fixed income since I went to Washington," he said.

"I've lived off of what I made in the private sector. I put my five kids through 100 semesters of school and I paid for every penny of it. So her suggestion that I made money being a senator is simply false and I really am disappointed that she would suggest that."

Angle's Senate campaign blasted a release to reporters after the debate ridiculing Reid's "fixed income" remark and noting that his Washington home "is a condo at the Ritz-Carleton."

Recent reports peg Reid's net worth at somewhere between $3 million and $6.7 million. According to The Associated Press, Reid owns real estate in the Southwest in addition to portions of mining claims in Nevada.

Reid's campaign said Angle's remark was a lie.

"Over the last 20 years, Reid's net worth has fluctuated year-to-year, but remained largely unchanged," his campaign said.

—Updated at 9:18 a.m.