Beers says 2010 Reid challenge unlikely

State Sen. Bob Beers (R-Las Vegas), widely seen as a rising star in Nevada Republican circles, said in a telephone interview with PolitickerNV.com that a 2010 challenge to U.S. Sen. Harry Reid (D-Searchlight) was unlikely.

"I've got a 13-year-old at home," said Beers, explaining that a move to Washington, D.C., would keep him away from his family. "I'm not currently contemplating running against [Reid]."

Beers, who has held his Las Vegas-area state Senate seat since 2004, is in the midst of a heated re-election battle against Democrat Allison Copening. Several other Republicans who are also said to be contemplating a run for the Reid seat, U.S Reps. Jon Porter (R-Henderson) and Dean Heller (R-Carson City) and state Sen. Joe Heck, are also facing tough re-election races in November.

Other potential challengers' names which have surfaced include Lieutenant Governor Brian Krolicki and North Las Vegas Mayor Mike Montanden.

A Reid aide said today he expected a number of Republican names to be floated in the coming months.

Beers wouldn't say which of the potential Republican candidates he would support or believed would put up the strongest fight against Reid, but he suggested that Reid had veered too far to the left and was beatable.

"I think there is a sense that [Reid's] agenda is different from Nevada," said Beers. "I think that whoever comes out of the [GOP] primary will be our Senator."

Defeating Reid would likely be a challenge for any Republican challenger. The Senate majority leader has proven himself to be an aggressive fundraiser, taking in $11 million for his fundraising coffers since 2003.

Reid spokesman John Summers declined to comment on Beers' decision but said, "Sen. Reid's agenda is Nevada's agenda. And right now at the top of that agenda is passing a second economic stimulus package."

Publicly, Reid has said he is not thinking about his re-election bid.

"I'm not focused on that at all," Reid told PolitickerNV.com during the Democratic National Convention in August. "We're going to get (this cycle) over with. We've got another couple of years to go before I've got to start worrying about that."