Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is up with his third television ad in his home state of Nevada, just more than a year before he faces voters in a bid for a fifth term that has become unexpectedly difficult for him.
The latest ad, titled "Right Direction," focuses on alternative energy and how Reid "is leveraging his seniority to make Nevada the nation's leader in renewable energy and clean jobs," campaign manager Brandon Hall said in a statement.
The ad comes on the heels of an introductory ad campaign Reid launched two weeks ago which featured two spots touting Reid's Nevada roots and his ability to use his clout in the Senate to help his home state.
Reid campaign aides have said they need to get an early start to re-introduce the senior senator to Nevada residents because the state's population has boomed. A third of the state's electorate wasn't living in Nevada when Reid last won re-election, without trouble, in 2004.
Reid's 2010 race is shaping up to be one of his toughest yet. He currently trails in the polls against two relatively unknown GOP candidates -- Las Vegas real estate developer Danny Tarkanian and former state Republican Party Chairwoman Sue Lowden -- and has low approval ratings across the state.
Nevada voters, hit hard by home foreclosures and a drop in construction and tourism revenue, are growing restless about the state of the economy. And Reid has been at the center of debates over controversial policy issues as leader of the Senate's Democratic majority and the chamber's point person for President Barack Obama's agenda.
Reid, though, has been emphasizing Nevada's potential as a center for alternative energy generation, hoping that can help pull the state out of its economic doldrums.
And his fundraising clout is no small advantage in what could be a close contest. The mammoth $8.7 million in campaign funds the senator had stockpiled through Sept. 30 enabled him to start pushing that narrative on television this far out from the election.
CQ Politics rates the general election contest Leans Democratic.
To see how all of the 2010 Senate races are shaping up, check out the CQ Politics' election map.
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