RNC hits Reid for Biden visit

The Republican National Committee is using the vice president's upcoming visit to Nevada as fodder in its fight to spoil Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's re-election bid.

In a new radio advertisement, scheduled to air at the end of this week, the RNC attributes Nevada's rising unemployment rate to the Senate Democratic leader and his support for the White House's economic recovery strategy. The one-minute spot suggests Reid has lost his focus, lacks fiscal discipline and spends more time catering to the Obama administration than conveying the needs of his constituents.

"When the year began, Harry Reid led the charge to pass a huge new spending program he and Joe Biden said would mean jobs," the advertisement's female narrator says atop rather regal music.

"Seems like we’d be better off with less Washington in Nevada and more Nevada in Washington," the one-minute ad continues. "We just can’t afford the reckless economic policies of Harry Reid and Joe Biden."

The RNC's latest attack spells more bad news for Reid, who is already struggling in preliminary polls. Two recent measures have shown the Senate leader trailing his lesser-known GOP challengers by as much as double digits -- a problem for any incumbent, especially one who heads up the majority party in the Senate.

Reid has since tried to limit his national exposure, focusing instead on local media to prepare for his tough re-election fight. But that has not stopped the RNC from hitting the Senate Majority Leader for planning to appear alongside Biden -- who has toured the country over the past few months to promote the White House's recovery efforts -- on Friday.

"The people of Nevada deserve an explanation from Senator Reid – not Vice President Biden’s rose colored projections, on when this so-called stimulus experiment will actually start putting Nevadans back to work,” RNC Chairman Michael Steele said in a statement on Thursday.