Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Nevada eyes big political gamble - Casino

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Like many Nevadans, hairdresser Helen Elgas is trying to decide between the devil she knows and the devil she doesn't, and the future of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, hangs in the balance.
Sitting in the shade of a strip mall on West Sahara Avenue, miles from the casino towers that symbolize Las Vegas, Elgas is not happy with Reid. But she isn't sure she can bring herself to vote for his challenger, former state assemblywoman Sharron Angle, either.
"I think Harry Reid should be taken out. I'm not sure Sharron Angle could do any better," said Elgas, 47, a registered Republican.
"He's not helping any more - he's one of the good old boys," said Elgas, who like many Americans is fed up with the political establishment as the economy falters.
"She's a dingbat," Elgas added.
A few years ago, Las Vegas laughed at the idea of a downturn in Sin City, and the Strip boomed as economic cracks appeared nationwide. But when Las Vegas fell, it fell hard.
High rollers disappeared, construction cranes ground to a halt, and the state of 2.64 million set new records -- for the highest unemployment and foreclosure rates in the nation.
Enter Sharron Angle, founder and former teacher of a one-room K-12 Christian school turned politician, who has dumbfounded much of the state with her hard-line positions on small government.
A favorite with conservative "Tea Party" activists, Angle was only 2 percentage points behind Reid in a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday.
Forty-six percent of likely voters in Nevada said they would vote for Reid if the election were today, while 44 percent chose Angle. The margin of error for likely voters in the poll was 4.6 percentage points, making Reid's lead even more tenuous.
Reid, running for a fifth term, is a staple of politics in Nevada. But people have been moving into the state so quickly that many voters have no idea what he has done for Nevada.
The state's population has nearly tripled since he was first elected to the Senate in 1986. Meanwhile, the median home price in Las Vegas is less than half its 2006 peak, leaving builders unable to compete with the glut of foreclosures.
Fighting for his political life, Reid is using negative ads starring Angle herself. In one, Angle says she would not have voted to extend unemployment insurance and adds "we really have spoiled our citizenry."
In another, reporters say she proposed phasing out the Social Security retirement system, although she has also said she wants to pay the amounts already promised in benefits.
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