Reid Trails 2 Republican Challengers in Poll

'I don't know how that happened,' Senate candidate tells Tea Party crowd

(NEWSER) - America's political battles slipped further into uncharted territory this week after GOP Nevada Senate candidate Sharron Angle charged that Islamic Sharia religious law has "taken hold" of US cities. "Dearborn, Mich., and Frankford, Texas, are on American soil and under constitutional law—not Sharia law," Angle told a gathering of her Tea Party backers. "I don't know how that happened. There is something fundamentally wrong with allowing a foreign system of law to take hold in any municipality in our United States." More»

Perry and KBH face off; Tea Party mounts challenge in Fla.

(NEWSER) - The 2010 primaries will see the GOP repairing its identity and soul-searching among Democrats. The 10 most important races, according to Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post :

1. Texas governor, R: Rick Perry is running for an unprecedented third term, and voters seem to approve. But Kay Bailey Hutchison is a popular, crafty, and well-funded opponent.
2. Florida Senate, R: The looming battle between Gov. Charlie Crist and former state House Speaker Marco Rubio is being closely watched as a bellwether of the rift between GOP moderates and the insurgent Tea Party movement.

A Senate majority leader needs to 'think bigger'

(NEWSER) - The Senate may be dealing with weighty issues like health care reform, but its majority leader's biggest concern is his own political skin, writes Dana Milbank. Harry Reid's selfish focus on re-election is getting in the way of his larger duties, and it's time Democrats woke up to this reality. Yes, the good citizens of Nevada deserve attention, "but in a nation of 300 million, the Senate majority leader needs to think bigger." More»

Senate majority leader studying Corzine for cues to effective negative campaign

(NEWSER) - Harry Reid, his re-election campaign wilting in the polls, is getting ready to rumble: The Senate majority leader is promising an intensely negative campaign against the 2010 GOP challenger for his Senate seat. With his $8.7 million war chest—the largest ever for a Nevada statewide race—Reid will “vaporize” his opponent, an aide tells Politico. “I think he will do anything to win,” an analyst concurs. Well, “anything legal to win.” More»

Latest trends show even Reid, Spector, Dodd in trouble: Silver

(NEWSER) - Things are looking brighter for Republicans in the Senate, writes Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight.com. In his monthly ranking of which seats are most likely to switch parties in 2010, Republicans have made a big move. Of the 10 seats that look more likely to switch hands, seven favor Republicans. “While there are still plenty of opportunities for Democrats,” he writes, “I believe that Republicans are now slightly more likely to gain seats.” More»