Reid’s hat in the ring for another six years

Kirsten Searer

Thursday, May 27, 2004 | 10:54 a.m.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., seems determined not to repeat the 1998 election, when he beat John Ensign by just 428 votes.

After amassing about $7 million for his re-election, Reid kicked off his campaign Wednesday with hundreds of people gathered outside of University Medical Center.

Determined supporters hid from the afternoon sun under umbrellas and political signs that read, "Harry Reid: Independent like Nevada."

"I hope you'll trust me for another six years," Reid said. "Because I guarantee you I'll work as hard as I can and I won't quit."

The slogan was one of the first he used to run for political office.

The site had personal meaning, as well; Reid held his first elected position as head of the board of the hospital, then called the Southern Nevada Memorial Hospital.

"The good news is the emergency room is right behind us," Reid assured the hot crowd.

After the speech, Reid told reporters he is organizing an aggressive campaign.

First, he said, he won't trust political pollsters and might not run a poll for the next few months. This time in 1998, he pointed out, polls showed he was 30 points ahead of Ensign.

Reid said he started organizing early, hiring campaign staff as early as last summer. He won't spend his money on advertising until late, however, when the election is in full swing. He would, he said, agree to a debate.

And Reid refused to attack the major Republican candidate in the race, Richard Ziser, who earlier in the month said that the veteran senator has used his power for "evil."

"I've never met him, but I understand he's a nice man," Reid said. "He presents himself well."

Reid has attracted six Republican challengers, though Ziser, a Republican activist who helped pass the state's constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman, has the most coordinated campaign.

Ziser has been running a full campaign schedule but so far has been slow to raise money.

Ziser's campaign consultant, Steve Wark, warned that Reid shouldn't take his candidate with a grain of salt.

Wark said he'll fight arguments that Reid should remain in office because he holds a senior position in the Senate, saying Nevada is ranked lower now in the number of federal dollars it gets than it was when Reid took office.

And he said that Ziser's comment about Reid at the Republican state convention was appropriate.

"It's going to be the type of campaign where people should make relevant arguments based on the character of people in office," Wark said. "If Harry Reid finds flaws with Richard Ziser's character and ability to lead, then he can make his case."

Several Reid supporters argued Wednesday that Reid should be reelected because, as the Senate's minority whip, he is one of the most powerful politicians in Nevada's history.

Sheriff Bill Young, a Republican, said he lobbied Reid to secure more money for homeland security after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Another $11 million soon was on its way, he said.

"That ability to call Sen. Reid in times of crisis is immeasurable," he said.

Longtime Reid supporter Kathie Grigg carried a red umbrella around the event and said she would knock door-to-door for Reid.

"He definitely doesn't want us to have Yucca Mountain any more than I do," she said.

She, like another union representative, Carlos Aquin, said agreed with Reid that it's important to launch an aggressive campaign.

"You never know until all the votes are counted," Aquin said, laughing when he talked about the 1998 election.

Gary Gray, a Democratic political consultant, said he hopes Reid's campaign will give Democrats something to rally behind, as opposed to 2002, when Democrats' efforts were more fragmented and the party did poorly at the polls.

"That's what Harry can do so successfully," Gray said. "He can bring unity and focus of purpose."01