As Sen. Harry Reid completes his first year as Senate majority leader, Nevadans generally are unenthusiastic about his job performance, according to a new poll that shows as many people rate him poorly as believe he is doing well.

Coupled with a poll taken earlier this fall showing Reid's personal popularity has fallen, the latest survey taken for the Review-Journal indicates the veteran senator continues to pay a price back home as a leading face of Democrats in a Congress that spent this year in pugnacious debates on Iraq, immigration, energy, taxes and other topics.

"It shows he has become a polarizing figure in Nevada," said Brad Coker, managing director of Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc., the Washington D.C.-based firm that conducted the poll. "He has become a lightning rod because he is the spokesman for the Democratic leadership and has had to play the tough guy role."

The survey showed 41 percent believed Reid's performance has been excellent or good, while 42 percent rated him as poor. Sixteen percent said Reid's job rating should be "only fair."