Harry Reid

American politician (1939–2021)

Harry Mason Reid (December 2, 1939 – December 28, 2021) was an American politician. He was the United States senator from Nevada from 1987 to 2017. He was a member of the United States Democratic Party, and was their leader in the Senate. Earlier, Reid was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1981 until 1987 and Lieutenant Governor of Nevada between 1971 until 1975.

Harry Reid
United States Senator
from Nevada
In office
January 3, 1987 – January 3, 2017
Preceded byPaul Laxalt
Succeeded byCatherine Cortez Masto
Senate Minority Leader
In office
January 3, 2015 – January 3, 2017
DeputyDick Durbin
Preceded byMitch McConnell
Succeeded byChuck Schumer
In office
January 3, 2005 – January 3, 2007
DeputyDick Durbin
Preceded byTom Daschle
Succeeded byMitch McConnell
Senate Majority Leader
In office
January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2015
DeputyDick Durbin
Preceded byBill Frist
Succeeded byMitch McConnell
Senate Minority Whip
In office
January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2005
LeaderTom Daschle
Preceded byDon Nickles
Succeeded byDick Durbin
In office
January 20, 2001 – June 6, 2001
LeaderTom Daschle
Preceded byDon Nickles
Succeeded byDon Nickles
In office
January 3, 1999 – January 3, 2001
LeaderTom Daschle
Preceded byWendell Ford
Succeeded byDon Nickles
Senate Majority Whip
In office
June 6, 2001 – January 3, 2003
LeaderTom Daschle
Preceded byDon Nickles
Succeeded byMitch McConnell
In office
January 3, 2001 – January 20, 2001
LeaderTom Daschle
Preceded byDon Nickles
Succeeded byDon Nickles
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Nevada's 1st district
In office
January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1987
Preceded byJames Santini (At-large)
Succeeded byJames Bilbray
25th Lieutenant Governor of Nevada
In office
January 4, 1971 – January 1975
GovernorMike O'Callaghan
Preceded byEdward Fike
Succeeded byRobert Rose
Personal details
Born
Harry Mason Reid

(1939-12-02)December 2, 1939
Searchlight, Nevada, U.S.
DiedDecember 28, 2021(2021-12-28) (aged 82)
Henderson, Nevada, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Landra Gould (1959–2021; his death)
ChildrenLana
Rory
Leif
Josh
Key
Alma materSouthern Utah University
Utah State University, Logan
George Washington University
Signature

Early life

change

Reid was born on December 2, 1939 in Searchlight, Nevada.[1] He studied at Southern Utah University, at Utah State University, and at George Washington University.

Career

change

He returned to Nevada after law school and served as Henderson city attorney before being elected to the Nevada Assembly in 1968. In 1970, at age 30, Reid was chosen by O'Callaghan as his running mate for Lieutenant Governor of Nevada. Reid and his mentor O'Callaghan won the race and Reid served as lieutenant governor from 1971 until 1974. Reid became the youngest lieutenant governor in Nevada's history.[2] When he ran for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Alan Bible. He lost by fewer than 600 votes to former Governor Paul Laxalt. In 1975, Reid ran for Mayor of Las Vegas and lost to Bill Briare.[3]

Representative

change

Nevada had only a single at-large member in the United States House of Representatives, but population growth in the 1970s caused the state to pick up a second district. Reid won the Democratic nomination for the Nevada's 1st congressional district, based in Las Vegas, in 1982, and easily won the general election. He served two terms in the House, from 1983 to 1987.

Senator

change

In 1986, Reid won the Democratic nomination for the seat of retiring two-term current Republican Senator Paul Laxalt. He defeated former at-large Congressman Jim Santini, a Democrat who had turned Republican, in the November election. He coasted to reelection in 1992. However, he barely defeated 1st District Congressman John Ensign in 1998 in the midst of a statewide Republican sweep.

In 2004, Reid won reelection with 61 percent of the vote, gaining the endorsement of several Republicans.

Ensign was elected to Nevada's other Senate seat in 2000. He and Reid have a very good relationship, despite their bruising contest in 1998. The two frequently worked together on Nevada issues until Ensign was forced to resign his Senate seat.[4]

While Reid won the Democratic nomination with 75% of the vote in the June 8 primary, he faced a competitive general election for the 2010 Senate race in Nevada. Reid engaged in a $1 million media campaign to "reintroduce himself" to Nevada's voters.[5] He defeated Republican challenger Sharron Angle in the general election.

In 2015, Reid announced his retirement from the senate. In November 2016, Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto, who he supported to replace him, won the election.

Personal life

change

He was married to Landra Gould. They had 5 children.

In May 2018, Reid had surgery for pancreatic cancer at Johns Hopkins Cancer Center after a tumor was found in his pancreas during a routine screening.[6] In a January 2019 interview with The New York Times, it was revealed that Reid was confined to a desk at his home and was unable to move without the aid of a walker.[7]

Reid died of pancreatic cancer at his home in Henderson, Nevada on December 28, 2021, at the age of 82.[8][9]

References

change
  1. Smith, Christopher (June 9, 2001). Senate's New Majority Whip: Senator Harry Reid of Nevada Archived 2013-01-24 at the Wayback Machine. Salt Lake Tribune.
  2. "Harry Reid Fast Facts". CNN.com. 22 March 2013. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  3. "Dustbusters, sex appeal and Sen. Frankie Sue". Retrieved July 14, 2009.
  4. "Biography". Reid.senate.gov. February 13, 2009. Archived from the original on March 16, 2008. Retrieved August 29, 2010.
  5. Raju, Manu. "The Nevada plan: Reintroduce Reid". POLITICO.
  6. "Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has surgery for pancreatic cancer". CNN. May 14, 2018.
  7. "Harry Reid Has a Few Words for Washington". The New York Times. January 2, 2019. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  8. Messerly, Megan (December 28, 2021). "Harry Reid, former Senate majority leader and Democratic kingmaker, dies at 82". The Nevada Independent. Archived from the original on December 29, 2021. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  9. Martin, Jonathan (December 28, 2021). "Harry M. Reid, a Power in the Senate, Dies at 82". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 29, 2021. Retrieved December 28, 2021.

Other websites

change

  Media related to Harry Reid at Wikimedia Commons