Angling for a Fight: Harry Reid to Face Sharron Angle in Debate

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., will go face-to-face tonight with his Republican opponent Sharron Angle in a debate focused on the economy and where both candidates will likely attempt to paint the other as being out of touch with Nevadans.

For both Angle and Reid, it will be a test of whether they can go beyond attacks and reinforce their message on issues pertinent to voters.

In a state that leads the country in unemployment and foreclosures, Reid will have to explain why voters should elect him to a fifth Senate term.

"I think the senator's challenge is what his challenge has been since he came to public office," said Democratic consultant Billy Vassiliadis. "He doesn't speak in 60-second sound bites. He wants to share information and a lot of details. ... I think the challenge for him is to hone in on himself and focus on himself."

Angle faces a similar challenge. The Republican candidate has frequently found herself at the center of controversy about her past statements, but experts say the key will be to talk about the economy and build on the national discontent against President Obama and a Democratically controlled Congress.

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Reid and Angle are in a tight race that experts say will eventually boil down to how many Nevadans turn out at the polls.

Angle has the money advantage. She raised $14.3 million in the third quarter alone, an unprecedented number for any Senate candidate.

But Reid has the Democratic registration advantage and a bigger "Get Out The Vote" campaign effort.

"It's really difficult to get a handle on what's going on out there and it's going to depend almost entirely on the turnout," said Nevada political analyst Jon Ralston. "If the Democrats can turn out a reasonable number of voters, Reid has a chance. But if, in the end, he's so swamped by the enthusiasm among Republican voters, he's going to lose."

Reid's campaign has mostly focused on attacking what it characterizes as Angle's radical views, unearthing old sound bites from the conservative candidate saying she's not in the business of job creation and calling for "Second Amendment remedies."

More recently, the campaign has attempted to turn the attention toward Reid himself, portraying the senator as an experienced lawmaker who will bring back money to the state for economic projects.

Angle, on the other hand, is riding the anti-incumbent wave. She has blasted Reid on taxes, spending, supporting President Obama's stimulus plan and even using taxpayer money to pay for Viagra for child molesters and sex offenders.

But Angle herself is no stranger to controversy. Even before she won the primary, Angle came under fire for opposing federal government programs popular among Americans such as Social Security and Medicare.