Reid still lags behind GOP challengers

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) continues to lag behind two potential Republican opponents, a new poll found Tuesday.

A Rasmussen Reports poll found Reid trails both Nevada GOP Chairwoman Sue Lowden and real estate developer Danny Tarkanian in a test of 2010 matchups.

Lowden, who will resign her position at the end of the month, beats Reid 50-40 with four percent preferring another candidate and five percent undecided.

Tarkanian, the son of a legendary former UNLV basketball coach, maintains a slightly smaller lead over the majority leader. 50 percent of Nevada voters would support Tarkanian, while 43 percent would back Reid. Four percent would prefer someone else, and three percent are undecided in that race.

The discouraging numbers for Reid mirror those contained in a Mason-Dixon poll last month, also showing him well under the 50 percent reelection threshold considered healthy for incumbent candidates.

The Rasmussen poll found a correlation between voters' views on the healthcare reform bill making its way through Congress and views toward Reid, suggesting that the majority leader's political future may well be tied to the fate of the health legislation.

The poll, conducted September 14, has a 4.5 percent margin of error.