Republicans line up to take on Democratic leader Harry Reid

Republicans once worried they wouldn’t have an opponent for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). Now they face a crowded primary between several wealthy candidates.

But, they argue, a competitive primary might not be a bad thing.

The three leading candidates are largely unknown, untested and far less experienced at campaigning than Reid. Having to run against each other, some Republicans hope, will strengthen the eventual winner for a tough general-election contest.

For now, the GOP candidates face the dual challenge of defining themselves for the electorate while portraying Reid as too tied to Washington.

Republicans like to draw parallels to former Sen. Tom Daschle (S.D.), the Democratic leader who lost his reelection bid in 2004 in part because South Dakota voters did not approve of the national Democratic Party.

“Fundamentally, I think [Reid’s] numbers reflect a profound disconnect with the people in the state he’s supposed to represent,” said John Chachas (R), an investment banker. “Even the newer people in Nevada, in the end still, I think, believe in small government, not intrusive government.”

Chachas emphasizes his ties to the state, noting he is a “third-generation Nevadan who became a successful national businessman.”

But he faces another notable Nevadan — businessman Danny Tarkanian (R), the son of legendary NCAA basketball and NBA coach Jerry Tarkanian.

“Not being an elected official at this time suits what people want right now,” Tarkanian said. “They’re upset with the party officials that are running the [country]. They want an independent voice that’s going to go back to Washington, D.C., and represent them.”

And the economy is expected to be a major issue in one of the states hit hardest by the recession.

Although national Democrats say the stimulus package has begun to show signs of economic improvement, the Republican candidates say Nevada has not seen any impact.

“We are, next to Michigan, the highest unemployment in the country. We’re struggling here in Nevada,” said Sue Lowden (R), a former state senator and businesswoman who stepped down as state GOP chairwoman in order to make a run.

The candidates all say they believe, given the state of the construction and tourism industries, that the unemployment rate will continue to climb.

“As we go into the first part of 2010, there are some very large construction projects that will roll to conclusion,” Chachas said. “I don’t know how many thousands of jobs will be closed, but there’s really no place for those gentlemen to go. There’s nothing behind it in the pipe. So as you look to the beginning of 2010, I think unemployment in Nevada will spike even higher.

“I think this is bad for the country but good for Republican politics. We are in for a lousy 2010. As an economy, we are going to continue to see job losses,” he added.

Polls show Reid is in a tough battle for his fifth term. In a Mason-Dixon survey taken for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Lowden led Reid 49 percent to 39, while Tarkanian led 48 percent to 43. The poll received a lot of national attention and had pundits predicting trouble for the majority leader.

Chachas, who only recently said he would get into the race, has not been included in public polls, but he claims a poll he commissioned, conducted by prominent Republican pollster Jan Van Lohuizen, shows him leading the majority leader as well.
Internal polls conducted for the Democrats show Reid leading all three candidates. Meanwhile, Reid’s campaign dismisses the public numbers.

“Sen. Reid has never put much stock in polls,” said Brandon Hall, Reid’s campaign manager. “The Republican candidates in this race are still supporting many of the policies that got us into the mess that Sen. Reid is working every day to get us out of.”

The primary is eight months away, and the three Republicans are as concerned with defining themselves to the GOP primary electorate as they are with running against their common foe.

Tarkanian and Lowden point to their families’ long history in the Silver State, and to their own electoral histories. Tarkanian ran statewide in 2006, losing a race for secretary of state, while Lowden was a state senator in the 1990s.

Chachas says his own family’s history in Nevada — his father was an elected official in a rural county, and his family still owns several business interests in the state — will help him connect with voters from the bustling hub of Las Vegas to the sparsely populated “cow country,” as he calls it.

Still, the sniping has already started. Chachas, who has put $1 million of his own money into the race, does not live in Nevada (he is making plans to move back and register to vote), a factor that has drawn fire from both Lowden and Tarkanian.

“The fact that Mr. Chachas hasn’t lived here, hasn’t voted here, that’ll make it very tough for him,” Tarkanian said.

Added Lowden, at the end of an interview: “Did I mention that I live here? Did I mention that I vote here? Did I mention that my children go to school here? I just thought I’d mention that.”

Meanwhile, Lowden comes under fire for having contributed to Reid’s campaign during his races in the 1980s. Many also have criticized her handling of the state party, which has lost significant electoral ground over the last several years.
And though he has run statewide, Tarkanian has never won a race, something that may hinder him if he were to face Reid.

No matter who wins the primary, they are all aware of the looming specter that is Harry Reid. With a pledge to raise $25 million for his reelection campaign — more than three times what he spent to win reelection in 2004 — Reid is poised to flood the airwaves with his message at a moment’s notice. Once voters are presented with a choice, Hall said, the senator’s standing is likely to improve.

“As the election draws closer and voters are presented with a choice between moving our economy forward and the status quo, we are confident that

Sen. Reid’s vision of moving forward will prevail,” he said.

Republicans, wary of the amount of money they may be forced to spend, interpret that in a different light.

“Reid’s going to come after whoever he runs against, and he’s going to try to destroy that person’s character. That’s his MO,” Tarkanian said.