Poll: Reid down 10 points to Nevada GOP chairwoman Lowden

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-Nev.) reelection effort continues to lag behind GOP competitors, a poll found Friday.

Former state GOP Chairwoman Sue Lowden maintains a 10 point lead over Reid, even with independent and Tea Party candidates included in the poll.

Forty-seven percent of Nevada voters said in a Mason-Dixon poll that they'd vote for Lowden if the election were held today, while 37 percent said they would reelect Reid.

The poll shows Reid's effort continuing to lag in the first poll since the two-week congressional recess, during which Reid barnstormed the state, touting his leadership on healthcare, jobs and a number of state initiatives.

Reid said during that recess that if the election were held today, he would win, pointing to a perception that a conservative, Tea Party candidate would eat into Lowden's or another GOP competitor's margin.

The Mason-Dixon poll, which was commissioned by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, showed Tea Party candidate Scott Ashjian grabbing 2 percent of the vote, while Tim Fasano, the candidate of the Independent American Party, receives 3 percent.

Reid's election effort has been one of the most closely watched in this year's cycle of Senate elections, with Republicans optimistic that they can knock off the Senate's top Democrat for the second time in six years after defeating Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle in South Dakota in 2004.

The poll, conducted April 13-14, has a 4 percent margin of error.

Cross-posted on The Briefing Room.