Harry Reid Ahead Tea Party Favorite Angle in new Poll Among Registered Voters
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is leading Tea Party favorite and Republican candidate Sharron Angle 52 to 36 percent among registered voters, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll shows.
In the last month the Real Clear Politics average has shown a slight lead for Reid, but the new surge is somewhat of a turnaround for the majority leader, who earlier this year was facing dismal approval ratings and struggling in polls matching him up with potential Republican contenders.
Among likely voters, Reid's advantage narrows from 16 percentage points to just 4 points (48 to 44 percent). That's well within the poll's 4.6 percent margin of error. Likely voters are that subgroup of voters the polling firm estimates are most likely to actually turn out and vote. It's typical for polls to move from reporting results among registered voters to results among likely voters right around Labor Day.
The poll also finds Reid has a significant advantage over his rival among when it comes to independents, 36 to 19 percent. But 37 percent of independents surveyed were undecided.
Reid and Angle are also attacking each other in new TV ads this week.
The Democratic incumbent's latest ad hammers Angle on the BP oil spill. Last month she referred to BP's $20 billion compensation fund as a "slush fund." She later retracted, saying the term was "incorrect."
But Reid's campaign is highlighting that remark as part of an overall strategy that aims to portray the Tea Party favorite as outside the mainstream. His ad tags out, "Sharron Angle. Just too extreme."
Angle is firing back, hitting the majority leader hard on the economy, suggesting he's responsible for tanking property values in the state. Her new ad wraps up with the line, "Harry Reid. The only thing he's delivered for Nevada is hardship."