Harry Reid Leads Sharron Angle By 3 Points: Angle's $14 M

Reid 46, Angle 43 In New Nevada U.S. Senate Poll


A new Poll indicates that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has a three point advantage over Sharron Angle, his Republican challenger, in the Senate battle in Nevada.

According to a Suffolk University survey released Wednesday, 46 percent of likely voters in Nevada support Reid, the top Democrat in the Senate, with 43 percent backing Angle, the GOP nominee and a former state lawmaker who enjoys strong support by many Tea Party activists.
The other six candidates on the ballot are in the low single digits, with four percent saying they will vote for "none of these candidates," which is allowed in Nevada, and three percent undecided.

While Reid's three point margin is within the poll's sampling error, the Suffolk survey is one of only two recent polls to have Reid ahead. All other recent survey's conducted in October give Angle a single digit advantage over Reid.

The Suffolk University poll indicates that Angle holds a 22 point advantage over Reid among independent and non-partisan voters.

According to the poll, Nevadans are split on the job Reid's doing, with 49 percent saying they approve of how Reid is handling his duties as a senator, and 47 percent saying they disagree. But only 43 percent have a favorable opinion of the four-term senator, with 54 percent saying they see him in a negative light.

Forty-one percent of people questioned say they have a favorable opinion of Angle, with 52 percent saying they hold an unfavorable opinion of her.

Reid and Angle face off Thursday night in their first debate.

The Suffolk University poll was conducted October 8-11, with 500 likely voters in Nevada questioned by telephone. The survey's sampling error is plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.




Angle Raises $14 Million Since July


The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza reports that Sharron Angle, the Tea Party-backed challenger to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in Nevada, raised a whopping $14 million between July and the end of September, an astonishing haul almost three times more than amounts raised by other high-profile Republican candidates in the same period of time.

From Cillizza:

Former Nevada state Assemblywoman Sharron Angle (R) raised an eye-popping $14 million between July 1 and Sept. 30 for her challenge to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D), a stunning number that far eclipses the cash-collection totals of other prominent candidates seeking Senate seats next month.

"Sharron Angle produced one of the most successful single quarters of fundraising in the nation's history for a U.S. Senate campaign," said Angle communications director Jarrod Agen. "This is a testament to the hatred of Harry Reid, the nation's disapproval of President Obama, and the unprecedented grassroots support for Sharron Angle."

Reid has not yet released his fundraising totals for the third quarter, but he raised about $14 million between January and June of 2010.

The race is extremely close. A recent CNN/Time poll showed Angle leading Reid 42 percent to 40 percent.


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Sources: CNN, Suffolk University, Youtube, Google Maps