Senate leader Reid, Angle to face off in Las Vegas debate

Neither Sen. Harry Reid nor rival Sharron Angle is well suited for 24-hour news cycles that feast on rhetorical bumbles, and so the gaffe-prone candidates have mainly stuck to tightly controlled photo ops and nasty television ads in Nevada’s contentious U.S. Senate race.

Now, after months of harsh words over illegal immigration, the meaning of “2nd Amendment remedies” and even the treatment of child molesters, Reid and Angle will face off Thursday in the sole debate of what’s arguably the nation’s marquee Senate contest.

Polls show the candidates essentially tied and battling for a sliver of undecided voters in a state racked by foreclosures and a nation-leading 14.4% jobless rate. The hourlong televised showdown may force both contenders to discuss Nevada’s ailing economy in depth, as opposed to the sideshow issues that have dominated the campaign.

The Las Vegas debate is the only chance for voters to weigh the candidates side by side. Another debate fell through amid campaign sniping, and what was billed as a “candidate forum” was actually Angle fielding questions that Reid had answered weeks earlier on video.

Regardless, the event ended in a brawl between some Reid and Angle supporters.

Republican Angle, a former state lawmaker and “tea party” favorite less familiar in vote-rich Las Vegas, must combat a string of ads and mailers that essentially portray her as unfit for office.

Reid’s campaign has dinged her stated opposition to insurance mandates, including those for autism and related disorders, and her talk of privatizing Social Security, though she has since softened her rhetoric. He has also highlighted Angle’s lightning-rod statements, such as suggesting that, should control of Congress not change, angry voters might resort to “2nd Amendment remedies.”

Still, Angle has at least one significant advantage: She’s not Reid.

The Democratic majority leader’s shepherding of President Obama’s agenda has made him a top conservative target. That much was clear when Angle’s campaign announced this week that, in three months, she’d raised a stunning $14.3 million, mostly from small-dollar donors.

Angle generally has a warmer demeanor than Reid, who is more policy wonk than glad-hander. But her campaign ads have been just as ruthless as his, zinging Reid as soft on illegal immigration and in support of taxpayer dollars paying for sex offenders’ Viagra, a muddied claim at best.

Reid must convince voters that his sway as a Democratic leader outweighs their resentment toward him. He made that case, in part, on Tuesday at a rally with former President Clinton, whom Reid introduced as “my friend forever.” Clinton assailed Angle and her Republican counterparts, telling more than 1,000 supporters: “You and I know the only reason this is a tough race is because this is a tough time.”

Afterward, an Angle supporter was arrested for firing pepper spray at a group leaving the rally, according to TV reports. The man was dressed as a sheep.

ashley.powers@latimes.com