Nevada GOP chair opens door to Senate run

LAS VEGAS – Sue Lowden plans to step down from her position running Nevada’s Republican Party, a sign that she’s preparing to challenge Majority Leader Harry Reid in next year’s Senate race.

According to two people familiar with the matter, Lowden is expected to inform state GOP activists on a conference call Wednesday night that she plans to quit the chairmanship effective Sept. 30. Doing so would allow her to jump into what could be a contested GOP primary against several other Republican candidates.

A poll released by the Las Vegas Review-Journal last month said that if she escapes the primary, Lowden would beat Reid 45-40 percent. Another potential candidate, Republican Danny Tarkanian, would defeat Reid 49-38 percent, according to the poll. Reid is the top Republican target in 2010, and the national party is sure to put millions into trying to defeat him.

Still, there is ample time for Reid to turn around his poor poll numbers – and he’s planning to build up a war chest of some $25 million – that will make any challenge against the powerful majority leader a daunting task.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/26708.html