Reid still holds ‘narrow advantage,’ pundit says

A new round of Senate election ratings keeps Nevada's Harry Reid in the "narrow advantage incumbent party" category for now.

The Rothenberg Political Report's 2010 ratings note that the lack of a strong, clear Republican challenger could make Reid's path to re-election substantially easier. If one doesn't emerge soon, Reid is likely to get classed as more than just narrowly safe.

The ratings, available only to subscribers, assess the field and find that after two winning cycles, Democrats once again have the advantage and stand to gain two to five more Senate seats. Here's the paragraph on Reid (which misstates Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki's position):

National GOP strategists see Reid as vulnerable, and they would love his scalp. But Republicans will need a strong, well-funded challenger, and they don’t have one yet. Former congressman Jon Porter (R), who was defeated last year, has looked at the race but doesn’t look all that excited about the prospect of taking on Reid. Attorney General Brian Krolicki (R) is interested in the race, but he has been damaged by an indictment that he insists is politically motivated. Reid’s poll numbers are mediocre, but the GOP will need a credible challenger if they are going to be able to take advantage of the Majority Leader’s problems back home. Keep this race on your radar screen. Reid March 31 FEC: $5 million on hand.