Reno Gazette-Journal

A new Reno Gazette-Journal/KTVN poll finds Democratic challenger Jill Derby (D-Carson City) is within striking distance of incumbent U.S. Rep. Dean Heller (R-Carson City) in 2nd Congressional District.

Derby, a former state Democratic chairwoman, trails Heller 47 percent to 42 percent, according to the poll. However, the 5 percent margin of error and recent registration swings in the 2nd District favoring Democrats suggest the poll could actually be good news for the challenger.

In a June 14 Las Vegas Sun poll, Heller led Derby by 14 points, 53-39; he defeated Derby by five points in locking up his first term two years ago.

Registration numbers show Democrats have picked up 14,000 new voters in the district since then, while Republicans have lost voters.

Derby has also benefitted from financial support from the national Democratic party, which has targetted Heller's seat as vulnerable to takeover.

A new poll shows U.S. Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) are in a near dead heat in the race for Nevada's electoral votes. The poll of 600 likely voters, conducted by The Reno Gazette-Journal and KTVN, shows Obama leading McCain, 44 percent to 43 percent. With the 4-percent margin of error, the poll shows the race to be a toss-up.

After a bad round yesterday, Mitt Romney is getting some positive play out of the West, where he is seen as a boon to John McCain's bid to keep them red.

Anjeanette Damon at the Reno Gazette-Journal wrote Wednesday about a listening in on an apparently one-sided telephone poll, which seemed to push U.S. Rep. Dean Heller (R-Carson City) and pan his Democratic opponent, Jill Derby.

In her Inside Politics blog on the RGJ website, Damon questioned if Heller's campaign played a part in commissioning the telephone survey, which featured a pollster speaking in glowing terms about the freshman congressman and not-so-subtly calling Derby's record into question.

An excerpt of Damon's post is below:

The caller asked about U.S. Rep. Dean Heller's ability "to get things done" and his willingness to put constituents' interests over partisan politics. She asked if Heller is "one of us" sharing the same experiences, "worries and hope for the future."

Listing a number of positions, the caller asked if one was more or less likely to vote for Heller for his proven ability to work on a bipartisan basis, his support of English-only ballots, his fight against wasteful spending and his work to secure funding for DNA testing. My favorite: Heller "knows you can't haul supplies with a hybrid" and that "we need pick up trucks."