In new ad, Sharron Angle hammers Harry Reid on jobs

Nevada GOP Senate hopeful Sharron Angle has a new ad out today slamming Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's leadership in Nevada. It's an effort to take down Reid's leading pitch for re-election: That his influence in Washington has gotten Nevada lots of perks. Citing the state's 14 percent unemployment rate and struggling economy, Angle says that's not true.

"Harry Reid says he's done more for Nevada," Angle says in the ad, which shows her speaking before a group of random voters. "He's done more for unemployment. ... He's done more for the foreclosure rate. ... Harry Reid has done more, and it's time for us to say 'stop doing it, we can't stand anymore.' "

Watch the ad here:

Given Reid's dismal approval numbers in the state, this is a line of attack where he could be seriously vulnerable. Since Reid’s rise in Senate leadership, his poll numbers in the state have steadily dropped. Angle's strategy, so far, has been to hammer away at Reid's weak spot rather than explain what she would actually do to solve the state's problems.

On Wednesday, Angle called a press conference in Nevada, but when it came time to take questions, she promptly walked away from reporters — or, as The Awl's Alex Balk put it, "Angle takes the phrase ‘Senate run’ too literally." It's an image that seems reminiscent of the way John McCain’s campaign tried to keep Sarah Palin from talking to reporters back in 2008. Angle's handlers are clearly worried the candidate might say something she shouldn't, but while it may be working now, the strategy ultimately undermines her campaign.