Rory Reid may have a well-known last name — he's the son of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid — but he doesn't seem anxious to let Nevada voters know what it is. A Democratic county commissioner who is running for governor of Nevada, Reid launched his first campaign commercial on Wednesday. But Reid's last name is nowhere to be found in the video:

"Rory Reid is doing his best to distance himself from his father," the Las Vegas Sun said. "He wants voters to know him simply as: Rory."

Republicans were quick to pounce on the omission in Reid's education-themed ad. "While Rory Reid tries to run away from Harry Reid, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree," Republican National Committee spokesman Jahan Wilcox said in a press release.

Of course, there's another explanation for the omission that doesn't entail the younger Reid running "away from Harry Reid": Since both father and son are on the ballot this November, the gubernatorial hopeful may simply be making a concerted effort to avoid voters confusing him with his father.

Either way, the younger Reid's message is clear: He's definitely not his dad.

As Senate majority leader in an increasingly unpopular Democratic Congress, Harry Reid remains a prized national target for Republicans, and could be in danger of losing his own bid for re-election this fall against Republican Sharron Angle.

Recent polls show Rory Reid trailing his Republican opponent, former judge Brian Sandoval, by more than 20 percentage points.

— Rachel Rose Hartman is a politics writer for Yahoo! News.