Looking to 2010, Senate Leader Reid Hopes to Avoid Daschle’s Fate
By Kathleen Hunter, CQ Staff
As he prepares to seek a fifth Senate term in 2010, Majority Leader Harry Reid is positioning himself to avoid the pitfalls that led to the ouster of the last Senate Democratic leader from a conservative-leaning state.
Reid, of Nevada, is quietly executing a re-election strategy designed to make sure that he does not share the fate that befell Tom Daschle of South Dakota, who in 2004 became the first Senate party leader in more than half a century to lose re-election.
As the leader of an expanded Democratic majority that will be expected to collaborate closely with the Obama White House next year, Reid will have to walk a fine line. He will have to convince Nevadans that his 2004 campaign slogan, “Independent Like Nevada,” still holds true, even though he has been a lightning rod for attacks from Republicans who accuse him of straying from his home-state interests.
Reid handily won re-election four years ago by painting himself as a maverick, even as Republicans succeeded in knocking off Daschle in part by casting him as out of touch with South Dakotans, particularly on issues such as taxes.
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