Now that President Obama has addressed and amplified the issue, the political debate over the construction of a mosque near Ground Zero is being felt far from Lower Manhattan, in political races across the country.

But candidates could find it difficult to straddle the issue, as Obama did, by expressing their support for religious freedom while refusing to take a stand on the construction of the Islamic center.

The latest to weigh in: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D), who is battling to keep his seat in Nevada.

In a statement issued by his spokesman, Jim Manley, Reid came out against the building of the Islamic center.