By Dave Porter

(AXcess News) Reno - Senator Harry Reid served the Democratic Party well in his post as Senate Majority Leader, but that post was threatened by NY Senator Hillary Clinton who many say was a strong candidate.  But the Nevada lawmaker saw the threat of Clinton being a contender disappear on President-elect Barack Obama choosing her as a member of his administration.

Reno News & Review's Dennis Myers noted in a November 13th story that many liberals were calling for Reid to step down - or be replaced.  Myers noted the parody in the liberal groups he himself helped create that were calling for his replacement.

"For a long time, most of the references to Reid leaving the Democratic leader's post were in the liberal political blogsphere he has done so much to cultivate," wrote Myers.

But since that writing, the Obama deal with Clinton accepting a nomination as Secretary of State has pretty much taken the guess work out the New York Senator being a threat to his Senate Majority Leader post.  Now Reid's attention is on his re-election and the fund raising campaign is underway.

Senator Reid does not come up for re-election until mid-2010, giving the Democratic lawmaker ample time raise campaign funds.

The WSJ noted on Saturday that Reid had been in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico late last month to meet with campaign contributors and that a Reid spokesperson stated that the Democrat looked to raise $3 million by the end of year, noting that Sen. Reid already had $2.75 million.

The Journal saw Reid's action as an "uphill battle for his re-election", knowing he'd face stiff resistance from Nevada Republicans.  But the politically savvy lawmaker is not one to sit idly by and wait.  Myers, who is closer to Nevada politics, says Reid had been indicated in trying to remove a political threat in Republican Brian Krolikci, Nevada's lieutenant governor who was indicted over questionable accounting practices while State Treasurer.  Krolikci denied the charges and announced his candidacy for the Senate post last month.  Reid has denied having anything to do with railroading Krolikci as a threat to his re-election campaign, but the savvy Democrat is well known for not overlooking any possible threat to his Seat.

What is strange is the fact that Sen. Reid is reaching outside of the boundaries of Nevada to fund his political re-election campaign.  Why meet with possible campaign contributers in the Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico?  The WSJ noted that Reid was also getting help from other Democrats in attempting to build a cash war chest exceeding his 2004 campaign funds of $4 million.  Reid's goal is to pass $7 million in cash by the time his campaign moves into full motion.

Sen. Reid has managed to gather the support of two other Democrats; Senator Tim Johnson of South Dakota and Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon, who the Journal noted have been sending emails to their supporters urging them to donate to Reid's campaign.  Apparently, Sen. Reid can't muster enough financial backing in Nevada to go it on his own.  Oddly, the lawmaker is looking everywhere but his own back yard.

Previous backers may be wary of siding up next to Sen. Reid so soon, unsure of his future role in the Senate.  The collapse of two Nevada banks didn't help as several of his supporters were real estate developers with ties to both banks.  Oddly, Reid was never mentioned by State regulators in their probe of those banks collapse.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (CA-D) who Reid is often supportive of, has been taking a 'wait and see' approach to Reid's survivorship as Senate Majority Leader, noting his ability to reach across the isle has been thin and that perhaps others might be better suited to the post.

With Rep. Pelosi appearing to distance herself from Reid, the Democratic party may face a divided view towards his position in the Senate and that could one reason why Reid is shopping for funds out-of-state for his 2010 re-election bid.  While Reid was affective in Bush-bashing early in the presidential race, with Obama winning the White House his effectiveness is not as crucial as having someone that communicate with Republicans despite the fact that Democrats have won more seats in the Senate.

In Nevada, Democrats have a 100,000 voter lead over Republicans so the drive for support is not as crucial at this juncture, though a lot can happen between now and 2010 that could sway Nevada voters away from Reid.  His move to beef his campaign war chest early may be needed if the Obama administration doesn't live up to its promises of 'change' in such a way as to put Nevadans back to work without taxing them to death in the process.