Nevada GOP Gov. Brian Sandoval has said he doesn't have a timeline for deciding whether to launch a bid to challenge Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, preferring to focus on the upcoming legislative session, according to
The Washington Post.
The massively popular Sandoval, who won re-election with 70 percent support, is believed to represent a potentially insurmountable threat to Reid's re-election should he choose to throw his hat into the ring in two years.
"I'm focused on my job. I really am. No, there's too much at stake this session to be distracted," Sandoval told the Post when asked whether he had a timeline in place to make a decision. "I've got the inaugural coming up, and even before that the budget."
Reid is considered one of the most vulnerable Democrats up for re-election in 2016, and Republicans have targeted that seat in their strategy to maintain their hard-fought majority of 54 seats in the Senate.
A poll released in August showed Reid trailing by 10 points in a hypothetical
match-up against Sandoval, who also had a lead of 65 percent to 28 percent among independents.
The midterm elections flipped control of the Nevada state Legislature from Democrat to Republican in both chambers, the Post reported, though a number of conservatives were elected who could pose a political challenge to establishment figures such as Sandoval.
Sandoval told the Post that he is focusing on getting to know the new crop of legislators.
"There are some legislators I need to meet. I haven't even met some of these" members, he told the Post.
Two other possible GOP candidates who have been floated as challengers have already ruled themselves out of the race: Reps. Mark Amodei and Joe Heck.
A poll in late July found Reid had just a
41 percent approval rating.
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