Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid Announces Retirement

Harry Reid, 75-year-old Senator from Nevada, recently announced that it is time for his political career to come to an end. Instead of seeking reelection in 2016, Reid will retire when his current term ends on January 3, 2017. Many suspect that his decision is related to recent illness and injury. Others insist that his confidence was shaken when he was demoted from Majority Leader to Minority Leader after the 2014 mid-term elections. Reid denied both accusations and used a baseball analogy to explain that he wanted to go out “at the top of his game.”

Prior to becoming a Senator, Reid was involved in local and state governments in Nevada, serving in the Nevada Assembly and then as Lieutenant Governor of Nevada from 1971-1974. Reid spent five years serving as chairman for the Nevada Gaming Commission, the government agency responsible for regulating the state’s casinos, and then went on to serve in the US House of Representatives from 1983-1987.

Reid was known as a pro-life Democrat when he was elected to the Senate in 1987. Since then, he has gained notoriety in the eyes of some and become notorious in the eyes of many for his opinions regarding the War in Iraq, his fluctuating stance on abortion, and his public accusations against Mitt Romney. Other criticism regarding Harry Reid involves his fight against the Koch brothers, two Republican mega-donors he referred to as “un-American.”

Harry Reid may be remembered for his bold attacks against the Koch brothers, racially tinged comments towards Obama, or even his failure to hold on to the pro-life cause, now that his time in politics is over.