On election eve, Harry Reid may face ghost of election past

Six years ago, Sen. Harry Reid cruised through his easiest re-election, essentially ignoring his GOP opponent Richard Ziser. Reid's political ads were soft pieces, some touting the pork he had brought to Nevada, others featuring his Searchlight buddies speaking fondly of the man called "Pinky" as a child.

While Reid had an easy election night, up in South Dakota, Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle was going down, the first Senate leader since 1952 to lose his election. The White House had dubbed him "chief obstructionist" to the Bush agenda and recruited former Congressman John Thune to run against him. Polls showed the race was as close then as Nevada's Senate race is today.

Reid was up all that night and spoke with Daschle about 3 a.m. Wednesday. He described it as "a very difficult conversation." The two men were as close as brothers. Both had been elected to the Senate in 1986. In 1994, Daschle became Democratic leader, and in December 1998, Reid became assistant Democratic leader, serving both in the minority and the majority over the next 12 years.

After that 3 a.m. call, Reid didn't go to bed. Instead, starting at 6 a.m., he started calling Democratic senators, lining up their support to make him their leader. At 1 p.m., he stood in front of the courthouse in Las Vegas telling the news media he needed 23 votes to replace Daschle -- and he already had 30. He had calls out to 10 more senators.

Reid's only potential challenger in 2004, Connecticut Sen. Christopher Dodd, realized he had been trumped. He was a contender in the morning and by early afternoon was out of the picture.

Reid nabbed the job he wanted. He was the new Senate minority leader, and when Democrats took control of the Senate in 2006, he became the top dog, Senate majority leader.

No Nevadan had ever gained this much power in the U.S. Senate.

Six years later, new polls show Sharron Angle leading the senator by 4 points, within the margin of error.

On Tuesday night, Reid may be in the same situation as Daschle. If he loses, contenders for his leadership job are likely to start scrambling for his job. Among the contenders would be Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin and New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, both men who lean further left than Reid ever did.

They're both refusing to discuss publicly whether they want the job, waiting until after Nevada's Senate race is decided, so as not to look too much like vultures hovering above Reid's carcass.

The lesson here may be the old saw, be careful what you wish for. Being the point man (or woman) to either oppose or support a presidential agenda can be dangerous to one's re-election. Daschle's fate should have been a warning to Reid. The national spotlight made them both targets.

Looking back at old stories, I noticed this from our editorial pages a few days after the 2004 election. "Sen. Reid has done many fine things for Nevada," the editorial said. Then it warned, "If his new leadership position requires him to carry the banner of the far left, becoming minority leader may very well be a career-ender for Sen. Harry Reid." Savvy prediction or wishful thinking?

Reid has been endorsed by the Reno Gazette-Journal, the Las Vegas Sun and even the Elko Free Press, which all took the position his power to help Nevada should not be tossed aside.

Daschle said much the same thing in his last campaign. Thune still defeated him by 4,508 votes.

We find out Tuesday if Reid follows Daschle into the history books as a loser, or whether Reid, known for his close races, squeaks out one final election and retains his ironic moniker as "Landslide Harry."

Jane Ann Morrison's column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. E-mail her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call 702- 383-0275. She also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/morrison.