A changing of the guard?

These are interesting times for Nevada's congressional delegation. So interesting that it may include a number of new faces within the next three years.

For Rep. Dean Heller, the Republican who represents the entire state outside Clark County, and Rep. Shelley Berkley, the Democrat whose district covers most of urban Las Vegas, it appears to be smooth sailing.

But the state's third House member, Rep. Dina Titus, doesn't have it so good. Congressional Quarterly has put the freshman Democrat in the "vulnerable" category for next year's elections. Rep. Titus, though, has raised $761,823 so far to go along with $571,668 she had in the bank.

"Money is a powerful check against an anti-Democratic wave or any problems that emerge with President Obama's popularity," Julian Zelizer, a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University, told Bloomberg News.

Indeed. We'll see how well it inoculates Rep. Titus next November.

Meanwhile, Nevada's two senators face a host of difficulties.

Republican John Ensign continues to bleed from the wounds suffered when he announced he had an affair with a campaign staffer -- and tried to keep it quiet with what amounted to hush money. He isn't up for re-election until 2012, though many observers have already pronounced him DOA. But three years is an eternity in politics, so don't shovel dirt on him yet. Suffice it to say, though, that a safe seat will now be in play come 2012 -- even if Sen. Ensign decides to seek re-election.

Finally, Sen. Harry Reid has seen his Nevada poll numbers crumble as he pushes the liberal agenda of Senate Democrats. The comparisons to Tom Daschle are obvious and appropriate. Nevada was in the national spotlight during the early Democratic caucuses last year. Look for the attention to be even more intense next year as the top Democrat in the Senate tries to work himself out of trouble.

Couple all this with the fact that Gov. Jim Gibbons is a long shot for re-election -- there's speculation he may not even run -- and Nevada may be on the verge of a political changing of the guard not seen in many decades.