With the election quickly approaching we must take a look at the toss-up Senate races across the country. One of the tightest and most controversial competitions is that of the Nevada Senate. Here the sitting Senator, Dean Heller is defending his seat against the challenger, Democrat Congresswoman Shelley Berkley. Arizona a mixed state is one that is hard to predict. Whoever wins this election will join Senior Senator Harry Reid on Capitol Hill. Last election cycle in close races we saw some upsets from the Republicans in Nevada, winning the 3rd district, the most populous of all the districts.
As many of you remember, Dean Heller was appointed to this seat after previous Senator Ensign resigned in April of 2011. Ensign left office in the midst of a scandal involving an extramarital affair. With this election, Dean Heller looks to hold onto the seat for another 6 years.
Here is the latest news on the race:
Shelley Berkley has managed to outraise Dean Heller so far, but more money is expected to pour into the state running up until the election. The two candidates have already debated each other once, back in September. They will also debate again on October 11th in Las Vegas, and will again appear together on Jon Ralston’s “Face to Face” program on October 15th.
The latest poll shows the two both garnering 45% of the vote. Although this poll shows a dead heat between the two candidates, the majority of polls within the last month have shown Heller with a commanding 5-6 point lead over Berkley. With the pouring of money into the state, it is important to watch the polls to see the impact.
Most recently in the Heller camp, they have released a new ad highlighting his bipartisan record in Washington. Since mid- September the campaign has released 5 advertisements; with the majority of them attacking Berkley on her record. Additionally, Heller claimed victory in the first debate back on September 27th.
Over on the Berkley side, just yesterday Shelley picked up an endorsement from one of the prominent Latina newspaper. A lot of her campaign has been focused around the Hispanic vote, as is evident by her commercials, her endorsements, and her speeches. She has only released one new ad since the beginning of the month and it focuses on jobs.
As the election gets closer, and the polls start to narrow in on a victor, please keep tuned to see the latest from each race.