After months of rumors swirling about…the word is State Senator Mark Amodei is finally ready to announce he will be tossing his hat in the ring to unseat Harry Reid.

Senator Amodei – Carson City native and 3-term Nevada State Senator - is planning an announcement tour of the state on September 9, beginning in Las Vegas, hitting Fallon and Reno, winding up the day with a previously scheduled speaking engagement at the Sparks Republican Women’s Club meeting that evening.  He has hired his core staff, touched bases with those well-based within the National and Nevada political arena and is ready to enter the battle to unseat Reid.

Amodei, a former Army Captain, served in the JAG Corp’s from 1984-87.  In his first foray into state politics, he narrowly missed defeating long-time Board of Regents member Jill Derby in 1994.  He went on in November 1996 to soundly defeat incumbent Nevada State Senator Ernie Adler.  Amodei, having served 3 terms, is now term-limited out of the State Senate.

He will be joining a wide range of candidates already having announced their intentions to run against Reid; however, Amodei will be bringing a strong combination of considerable legislative experience, a quick witted likeable persona and proven political savvy into the Republican primary field that others will be hard pushed to match.

His greatest challenge, of course, will be to get his name as well-known to those in the populous south as it has become to most in the north….but most other candidates will have the same challenge.  Las Vegan Danny Tarkanian is the only announced candidate against Reid to this point with such name recognition.  Of course, if Sue Lowden enters the race in a few weeks, as rumored, that would make two.

If he wishes to look realistically at the upcoming Republcian campaign to unseat him, Reid cannot and should not feel particularly comfortable with Amodei’s impending announcement.