ReiD, FrOm PAge 1:

Gop Makes reid their bogyMan

Striking at the top is a campaign strategy as old as politics itself. Most recently, Republicans targeted Democrat Nancy Pelosi, who was then the speaker, in 2010 when they took back the House of Representatives.

But Reid may not have enough name recognition to motivate voters in contested states outside of Nevada to oust their Democratic senator in November.

An April Gallup poll found 32 percent of respondents had never heard of Reid, while 41 percent viewed him unfavorably. (The poll noted that all four congressional leaders, the top Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate, have high unfavorable ratings.)

“No one knows who the guy is,” said David Damore, a political science professor at UNLV.

For that reason, Damore said the slogan struck him as “a little strange.”

“I don’t see a middle-of-theroad voter saying, ‘Yes, I want to go vote for the Republicans because I don’t like Harry Reid,’” said UNR political science professor Erik Herzik.

But when headwinds blow yourway, as several signs indicate for Senate Republicans, Damore said it’s Campaign 101 to make the upcoming election a national referendum.

Short said the goal was to give Reid name recognition — in an unflattering light.

“Part of the Fire Reid campaign is to elevate and define Reid for voters, to make our case that the dysfunction in Congress rests at his feet,” Short said.

Come Nov. 4, voters will see if the strategy worked.