Reid’s ratings mixed in poll

WASHINGTON -- As Sen. Harry Reid completes his first year as Senate majority leader, Nevadans generally are unenthusiastic about his job performance, according to a new poll that shows as many people rate him poorly as believe he is doing well.

Coupled with a poll taken earlier this fall showing Reid's personal popularity has fallen, the latest survey taken for the Review-Journal indicates the veteran senator continues to pay a price back home as a leading face of Democrats in a Congress that spent this year in pugnacious debates on Iraq, immigration, energy, taxes and other topics.

"It shows he has become a polarizing figure in Nevada," said Brad Coker, managing director of Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc., the Washington D.C.-based firm that conducted the poll. "He has become a lightning rod because he is the spokesman for the Democratic leadership and has had to play the tough guy role."

The survey showed 41 percent believed Reid's performance has been excellent or good, while 42 percent rated him as poor. Sixteen percent said Reid's job rating should be "only fair."

Nevadans expressed a similar lack of enthusiasm about the performance of first-year Gov. Jim Gibbons.

The poll showed 41 percent believe the Republican is doing a good or excellent job, while 22 percent say his job rating is poor and 32 percent believe it is only fair.

When it comes to the governor, Nevadans still need to be shown, said Danny Gonzales, a political science professor at Great Basin College in Elko.

"My take is that the people are still in the process of determining whether he is doing a good job or not," Gonzales said.

The telephone poll was taken Dec. 3 through Dec. 5 of 625 registered Nevada voters. It asked them to rate the performance of the leaders individually. The survey's margin of error was 4 percentage points.

Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., enjoyed a positive job rating of 57 percent in the survey, with only 12 percent judging his performance as poor.

Even though Ensign was given a position in the Senate Republican leadership this year, he has managed to keep a low profile on the most controversial topics, explained William Eric Davis, a political science professor at the College of Southern Nevada.

"He is keeping his head low and doing his job in the way most Nevadans want," Davis said.

Reid's poll numbers reflect voter frustration with Congress generally, according to Jon Summers, his spokesman. They may not reflect the millions of dollars Reid has secured for Nevada projects this year or his holding a line against nuclear waste being buried at Yucca Mountain, Summers said.

"Reid is frustrated with what he sees as Republicans blocking progress at every turn, but in spite of their obstructionism on many issues he has been able to deliver meaningful results to the people of Nevada," Summers said.

Reid's standing among partisans was predictable. Seventy-one percent of Democrats rated him positively while 12 percent rated him as poor. Among Republicans, 69 percent rated him poorly while 15 percent said they liked the job he has done.

Among independents, Reid drew a positive rating from 32 percent while more than half -- 52 percent -- said they were not happy with his performance.

"I don't think it is his tangling with the president that is the real problem," Davis said. "It is that Nevadans are like typical Americans, they hate bitter partisanship on both sides."

In October, a Review-Journal poll showed Reid's favorability rating among Nevadans had dropped to 32 percent, a low that alarmed Democrats and cheered Republicans looking for signs that he might be vulnerable when he is up for election again in 2010.

That poll asked whether respondents had a favorable, unfavorable or neutral opinion of Reid.

Reid dismissed those numbers as flawed, but Coker said Reid's job performance figures are another warning sign as the incumbent begins to form a re-election strategy.

But, Coker added, they are not necessarily a sign to panic. Official Washington will reset itself after the presidential elections next year, and there will be chances for Reid to recast himself.

"If there is a Democratic president and all Reid has to be is a cheerleader, I suspect his numbers would improve," Coker said. "If a Republican is elected and he takes on the role of a bridge builder, his numbers may improve. If he continues in his role as a prizefighter, then he will run a risk."

Gibbons should be worried because only 3 percent of Republicans surveyed thought he was doing an "excellent" job, Davis said, while 51 percent rated him "good."

"I am sure that is making him nervous," Davis said. He said Gibbons needs to get the Republican base voters "up around 75 or 80 percent" positive ratings by the time he considers running for re-election in 2010.

The Review-Journal poll in October showed Gibbons' favorability rating at 30 percent, while 29 percent had an unfavorable impression of him.

"His job performance is a little bit better than his personal reputation right now," Coker said.

"His problems have been basically coming out of the gate as governor," Coker said, referring to reports early this year that Gibbons may have accepted unreported gifts from Warren Trepp, a Reno defense contractor who was awarded secret military contracts while Gibbons was a member of Congress.

Coker said Gibbons has the opportunity to boost his standing among Nevada conservatives if he holds firm against new taxes in response to the state's fiscal problems.

"As long as he holds the line against taxes, he will hold the line with Republicans," Coker said.

Gibbons said in a statement Monday that "I am not, nor will I ever be, one who governs the state based on the latest poll numbers. I base policy decisions on what is in the best interest of the state, not what is reflected in the latest poll.

"Citizens expect their elected officials to make tough decisions that represent their interests, such as holding the line on spending and maintaining a balanced state budget without raising their taxes, all while sustaining state programs and services that provide assistance to children and those in need." Gibbons said.