#NVSen Update: Harry Reid Has Become Dean Heller’s De Facto Opponent

Jon Ralston at the Las Vegas Sun breaks down the recent NBC/Marist poll and reports that if the regional numbers are correct for Clark and Washoe, then embattled Congresswoman Shelley Berkley will be handily defeated by Dean Heller.  Nevada is three states – Southern, Northern and Rural. The greater the percentage of the vote in Clark County, the better for Democrats, who have a huge registration edge. … The NBC/Marist poll showed Berkley winning by 6 points in Clark and losing by 12 in Washoe — I am willing to bet … that if those are the results in November, based on what the turnout likely will be, she will lose by a substantial margin. Similarly, Obama is shown only winning Clark by 5 points — if that happens, he will lose the state.

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• Meanwhile, Ralston also writes that unpopular Harry Reid has become Dean Heller’s de facto opponent.  Indeed, it’s not much of a stretch to say that Reid might as well be on the ballot for the second straight cycle. One of his key operatives is on loan to Rep. Shelley Berkley, and a third-party group run by one of his former press secretaries this week began an attack on Heller that brought back memories of last cycle’s sequential outside assaults on Sue Lowden and Sharron Angle.  As Berkley generally avoids media encounters that might force her to talk about her ethics probe, cocooned by Team Reid as much as possible, the majority leader has become Heller’s de facto opponent.
  

• Finally, the Lahontan Valley News reports that Dean Heller is calling on Reid and embattled Congresswoman Shelley Berkley to focus on pro-growth, pro-jobs policies to get Nevada working again.  May’s unemployment figures are further proof of just how critical it is that Washington gets its act together. Too many Americans are unemployed or have simply dropped out of the labor force. It’s obvious that people across the country are hurting and want solutions. My state continues to lead the country in unemployment and it is no secret that the gridlock in Washington is not helping Nevadans. Congress needs to focus on pro-growth policies that eliminate burdensome regulations, reforms the tax code, and helps struggling homeowners.

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