Republican Sue Lowden has the best chance of defeating U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, according to a new poll for the Review-Journal that also suggests the Democratic incumbent could beat Tea Party favorite Sharron Angle in the fall, although he remains as unpopular as ever.
For the first time, a Mason-Dixon Polling & Research poll indicates that Reid could win re-election, even over Lowden, the one-time GOP front-runner whom the Democrat most fears and has most attacked. She is seen as moderate and a stronger general election foe than Angle, a staunch conservative now tied for the GOP primary lead.
The poll also reinforces the notion Angle is too far right to attract enough of the independents and crossover Democrats she would need to win. Her campaign rejects that argument, saying she is exactly the type of candidate voters are looking for in 2010 to clean out the incumbent class in Washington.