Nevadans favored Tarkanian over Reid 49 percent to 38 percent and Lowden over Reid 45 percent to 40 percent, according to the poll.
Reid's status makes him an icon of the Democratic Party and ties him to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and President Barack Obama, both of whom are losing ground among centrist and right-leaning voters in the country.
Winning "becomes more difficult when you are actually the one having to carry the water for the president," said Richard Davis, a professor of political science at Brigham Young University in Utah. "He (Reid) has got to get something out of the Obama administration that he can claim as his own."
Reid has a year to try to turn his approval ratings around, but I seriously doubt he can.
.