Longtime Elko County State Sen. Dean Rhoads has joined the list of Republican officials endorsing the re-election of Democrat Harry Reid.
In a letter to the Elko Daily Free Press, Rhoads said rural Nevada depends on the Taylor Grazing Act and the 1872 Mining Law to protect its economic strength and that Reid has successfully defended against attempts to pass legislation that would end those protections.
He said other members of Congress have made clear they would like to dramatically limit grazing on public lands and "slap a huge royalty on hard rock mining."
"We can support Sen. Reid and keep rural Nevada's key industries humming, or we can choose someone whose out-of-touch positions and lack of seniority are sure to put Nevada's interests on the sidelines," Rhoads wrote in a letter to the newspaper.
Reid is in a close battle with Republican and Tea Party favorite Sharron Angle of Reno.
Rhoads, a rancher in Tuscarora, has served in the Nevada Legislature since 1977.
He joins veteran Republican Senate leader Bill Raggio of Reno and other Reno Mayor Bob Cashell in backing the re-election of Reid over Angle.