Nevada at the Crossroads

Whodathunkit?

Nevada, whose state flower is the sagebrush, is at the center of the crossroads in the US Senate. In one corner, we have Harry Reid. Veteran lawmaker, newly-elected majority leader in the Senate. It is his task to both deliver on the "new course" promised so often in campaigns, while not scaring away voters before the 2008 elections.

In the other corner, we have John Ensign. The junior Senator from Nevada ran a close race against Reid when Harry was up for reelection, coming within 500 votes of a huge upset. He has just been picked to head the Republican's efforts to regain control of the Senate in 2008. He has a difficult task, with 21 Republicans and only 12 Democrats coming up for reelection in that cycle.

Making it more interesing is an informal agreement not to badmouth each other. This should be interesting.

More in the New York Times.