Congressional debate focuses on economic woes

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Nevada's U.S. Senate race is stretching into all corners of the Silver State's political landscape.

Democrat Harry Reid and Republican Sharron Angle skipped a Las Vegas political forum Wednesday night, but the down-ballot candidates who made the trip couldn't escape them.

Congressional candidates Dina Titus and Joe Heck carefully distanced themselves from the high-profile Senate contenders locked in a tense national battle, even as Titus and Heck vowed to back their party's nominee.

Heck, a Republican and former state senator, said he would vote for Angle, a far-right conservative who has been portrayed as "too extreme" by Democrats. Still, he assured voters he did not side with Angle on every issue. Titus, a first-term Democrat, has painted Heck as an Angle clone in a series of attack ads.

"We both agree that Harry Reid has been in Washington for far too long," Heck said.

For her part, Titus said she supports Reid but made sure to add that the federal health care bill passed by the House was superior to the version passed by Reid in the Senate.

"I am not Harry Reid. I am Dina Titus. I am running my own campaign," she said.

Nevada's Democratic gubernatorial nominee, meanwhile, would need to change his name to hide from the shadow of the Senate race. Rory Reid, the Democratic majority leader's son, has often cast himself as his own candidate, but at the debate, he briefly defended his father's focus on green energy jobs.

The political maneuvering underscores the Senate candidates' unpopularity - neither has polled with more than 50 percent support - and the uncertainty that marks the tight race.

The two-hour debate Wednesday focused on economic woes in Nevada, where foreclosure, bankruptcy and unemployment rates are at record highs.

Polls show Titus and Heck tied in the suburban Las Vegas district. Titus blames the sluggish economy on Republican policies under President George W. Bush, while Heck says Democrats have failed to make things better.

The race has drawn strong interest in part because Republicans are counting on newcomers like Heck to help them take back the House.

The debate often grew tense, with the candidates interrupting each other to make accusations.

Titus cited Heck's vow to extend all of the Bush tax cuts, even for America's wealthiest. They expire this year.

"We tried it for eight years and you see what we got," Titus said.

Titus, however, said she would compromise and agree to a temporary extension.

Heck defended the tax cuts as an incentive for small businesses to employ new workers. He blasted Titus for heralding federal stimulus projects even as Nevada's unemployment rate has soared past 14 percent.

"Where are the jobs? Because they are not here in southern Nevada," he said.

In the gubernatorial race, only the younger Reid showed up to voice his views. Temple Beth Sholom organizers said Republican Brian Sandoval declined an invitation to the debate.

Rory Reid blasted Sandoval for promising to close the state's potential $3 billion deficit without providing Nevadans with hard numbers on how the cuts would occur.

"I should be your next governor because I have a plan to move Nevada forward," Rory Reid said. "No candidate in the history of Nevada has said less than Brian Sandoval and that should concern you."

Sandoval and Reid have both denounced new taxes, but it is unclear how they can keep the state running on substantially fewer dollars.