Nevada’s ‘Reid Machine’ staring down tough test in midterms

By MICHELLE L. PRICE
Associated Press

It’s been eight years since Harry Reid led the U.S. Senate, but if his Democratic Party can manage to keep its tenuous control of the chamber this year, he may be the man responsible. Reid’s chosen successor for his longtime Nevada Senate seat, Catherine Cortez Masto, is locked in one of this year’s most closely contested elections. Her fate, and that of the Democrats’ grip on power in the Senate, rest importantly on the political organizing machine Reid built in Nevada, which is facing its first test after his death last year. The “Reid Machine’s” first battle without its namesake is coming at a time when the political winds are decidedly not in Democrats favor.