LAS VEGAS (AP) - A new poll suggests Nevada voters don't like Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid any more now than they did nearly two months ago, even though he's had campaign ads running for six weeks.
A Las Vegas Review-Journal poll released Friday said 38 percent of voters have a favorable opinion of the senator seeking reelection next year. That's the same result as a similar poll done in October.
The poll said 49 percent of voters had an unfavorable view of Reid, while 13 percent were neutral.
The telephone poll conducted statewide by Washington-based Mason-Dixon Polling & Research found Republican candidates Sue Lowden and Danny Tarkanian ahead of other possible GOP candidates to run against Reid.
The poll said Lowden and Tarkanian were about even, each with support from some one-quarter of Republicans.
But each would be ahead of Reid if they went head-to-head against him in a general election, the poll said.
Brad Coker, Mason-Dixon managing partner, said Lowden and Tarkanian face a primary challenge that is far from decided and could alter the general election.
"If the Republican primary becomes a bloodbath, they might change these numbers down the road," Coker said.
The poll of 625 voters has a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points.
Voters were more likely to have some type of opinion about Reid rather than Tarkanian or Lowden, the poll said.
The poll also said 24 percent of voters did not recognize Lowden while 19 percent did not recognize Tarkanian. All those polled said they recognized Reid.