Reid ad says he's America's most powerful senator

From the Hill:

Senate Majority Leader (D-Nev.) is touting his Senate influence in his latest campaign ad.

The top Senate Democrat, who has looked vulnerable to a Republican challenger in 2010 in a series of opinion polls, is on-air in Nevada boasting of his clout in a 60-second TV ad.

"He's the most powerful senator Nevada has ever had, and Harry Reid's working harder than ever to get Nevada's economy back on track," the narrator in the ad says.

The ad lays out a number of projects Reid has helped obtain or preserve for his home state.

"America's most powerful senator," the ad concludes. "Harry Reid: Determination that makes a difference."




The Las Vegas Sun paints a dismal picture of what "America's most powerful senator" has been able to do for the state of Nevada during his 26 years in the House and the Senate. 

On Oct. 15, foreclosure-tracker RealtyTrac reported Nevada led the nation in the percentage of housing units receiving foreclosure filings in September and the third quarter.

Today, the Irvine, Calif., firm broke out the numbers by metro area. They show Las Vegas leading the nation in foreclosure filings with one in every 20 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing in the quarter -- well above the national rate of one in every 136 housing units.

The rate for Las Vegas was up 8.82 percent from the second quarter and up 53.6 percent from the third quarter of 2008, RealtyTrac said.

Reno came in at No. 9 on the list, with one in 37 homes receiving a filing in the quarter -- up 14.1 percent from the second quarter and up 80 percent from 2008's third quarter.

The Nevada numbers are related to the state's skyrocketing unemployment rate, which reached 13.3 percent in September.

Perhaps Nevadans would be better off taking a chance on a former UNLV basketball star or a former leader of the Nevada GOP in 2010.  It is unlikely either would do worse for Nevada.