Campaign Politics 2004 Harry Reid v Jim Gibbons
2004 Senatorial Showdown: Gibbons v. Reid The drama that reality TV should really explore is that of a competitive senatorial race. ... The important question in 2004 is who will be voted off the Hill? In the never ending battle of the Democrats and Republicans trying to win the majority in the Senate one of the biggest showdowns during the 2004 elections will be that of Nevada’s Democratic incumbent Senator Harry Reid versus Republican Congressman Jim Gibbons. Although incumbents are almost always favored to win, in this particular race, Jim Gibbons under the right campaign strategy can obliterate the competition. ... This is not any other senate race, this is the ultimate showdown and Jim Gibbons is going to take it, here’s why. It has been said that Senate challengers have a far better chance than house challengers because the candidates are usually better qualified, as is the case with Representative Jim Gibbons (Herrnson 2000, 240). ... Gibbons is now serving his fourth term as a congressional representative for Nevada and has the political background necessary to make this election a competitive race. Gibbon’s candidate attributes is what makes him the number one contender for Harry Reid’s seat. ... While Senator Harry Reid may have been able to win the senate seat three times, according to the December 9th edition of the Las Vegas Review Journal, “ He is neither liked nor disliked which is not in a good position to be when he only won by 428 votes last time.” Gibbons on the other hand has been able to cater to the press in past elections and has high media coverage. Also, in a telephone interview, Christina Dugan of Dugan Consulting reported that, “Gibbons has shown his ability to appeal to people and loves to win which will ensure his enthusiastic participation in going door to door, phone banks, and showing up at as many community events as possible.” In addition, Gibbons also has the political context of our country on his side. ... Gibbons is a decorated veteran that served in both Vietnam and the Persian Gulf wars. ... Second, Gibbons can run off the president’s coattails, especially with President Bush running for re-election in 2004 and being as popular as ever.