Will Nev. falter if Reid loses Senate control?
By Amber Phillips, Las Vegas Sun
WASHINGTON — As much as anyone, Harry Reid is responsible for building modern-day Nevada. He has leveraged political savvy and well-placed Washington friends to pave bike lanes, build solar plants and land Tesla Motors’ battery factory.
But Reid could lose something important this fall: His power to control the U.S. Senate.
Republicans are rising in Senate races across the country. Who controls the Senate next remains a toss-up. If Republicans take six seats back in the Nov. 4 election, Reid will lose his seven-year grip on the majority leader’s chair.
Conventional wisdom says Nevada will suffer if its senior senator loses his hold on the Senate’s top position. But the consensus of more than a dozen veteran Democratic and Republican insiders say conventional wisdom is wrong. Reid, a former boxer, has proven to be a such a skilled Senate tactician that his political capital weighs more than his title.
“I think Sen. Reid is probably the most powerful person in Washington, D.C., whether in the majority or minority,” said Tom Skancke, president of the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance and a longtime Reid supporter.