Thursday, November 04, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Reid has party's support

Nevadan set to lead Senate Democrats

Sen. Harry Reid and his wife, Landra, respond to supporters Tuesday night at the Rio after his easy re-election. The Nevada Democrat is lining up support to become Senate minority leader. Photo by John Gurzinski.

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada on Wednesday announced his bid to become the new Senate Democratic leader, and moved a step closer to his goal after a potential rival said he would not enter the race.

Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., declared he would not seek to succeed the current leader, Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., who was defeated in Tuesday's election.

"A number of colleagues called and urged me to run, but I decided I could better serve my party and my state by staying out of a race that could be very harmful to our party," Dodd said.

Dodd added he would support Reid when Democrats meet to elect Daschle's successor as Senate minority leader. The election is expected to occur in December.

Announcing his bid on the steps of the Lloyd George U.S. Courthouse in Las Vegas, Reid said he had commitments from more than 30 of the 45 Democratic senators and had calls out to about 10 others.

Aides said he began making calls early Wednesday after speaking to Daschle.

Reid said he also spoke with President Bush on Tuesday, calling it a "private discussion" he did not detail.

"People know what I've done on the Senate floor (the) past six years, and my responsibilities now will extend past the Senate floor," Reid said.

Reid has served as Democratic whip, Daschle's chief lieutenant, since December 1998.

He drew praise from both sides of the aisle for his ability to monitor floor proceedings and find out how his colleagues would vote.

"I'm not Tom Daschle. I'm Harry Reid, and I'm going to do everything I can to put the kind of leadership that I feel we've had in the state of Nevada, where I've worked with people who are progressive, people who are not so progressive, and brought about many things for the state of Nevada," Reid said.

Senate leaders are elected behind closed doors, where commitments could end up meaning very little, according to Associate Senate Historian Donald Ritchie.

"It's a secret ballot, and that makes the election of a leader very hard to predict," Ritchie said. "There is some advantage in being the whip, because you can collect a lot of IOUs from your colleagues."

Some bloggers on Democratic Internet sites on Wednesday questioned Reid's charisma level, saying he's a nice enough guy but the party might need a more dynamic leader who can come across well on television.

"Let's face it. Reid is not the Democratic Tom Selleck," Washington political analyst Stuart Rothenberg said.

But Rothenberg added Reid may be the leader Democrats need after Tuesday's losses to Republicans, who increased their Senate majority from 51 seats to a projected 55 seats.

"The Democrats know they have problems outside the Northeast and the West Coast," Rothenberg said. "So they might decide a pro-life Democrat from a Western state like Nevada might be the message they want to send."

There had been whispers that Reid's stand opposing abortion could thwart his bid to become his party's leader in the Senate. The Democratic platform supports a woman's right to choose, and nine female senators are in Reid's caucus.

Asked about the issue, Reid said he has the support of female senators and has spoken with Kate Michelman, leader of the National Abortion Rights Action League.

"I don't have to give up any of my principles to be someone that can lead the Democrats through the legislative morass that we have," Reid said.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., issued a statement Tuesday endorsing Reid.

"I think Harry Reid has done the work, put in the time; he is a very good floor leader, very smart," Feinstein said. "I like the fact that he is a Westerner, frankly, because I am convinced we have to build the West here. So I think he is the logical choice at this time."

Wendy Wright, senior policy director for the conservative nonprofit group Concerned Women for America, questioned Reid's pro-life credentials.

"I've heard that he voted against partial birth abortion, but that's really not a litmus test," Wright said. "I know he gets labeled pro-life, but I'm really not aware of him working on these issues."

Nevada's other senator, Republican John Ensign, predicted Reid would be the next Democratic leader.

"There is no question that he will lock up the votes because he's done too much for too many people," said Ensign, who came within a whisker of ending Reid's Senate career in 1998.

Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, echoed Feinstein in calling Reid a logical successor to Daschle.

Eric Herzik, a political science professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, said Reid's new leadership position would raise Nevada's profile.

"He's already a very powerful senator who can do a great deal for the state on the appropriations committee," Herzik said.

Like Rothenberg, Herzik said Reid might be the leader Democrats need.

"The Democratic Party needs to take some time and figure out what it's all about, and as a guy who has worked with all parts of the party and is good behind the scenes, Reid may be the guy who can bring the different parts of the party together," Herzik said.

Review-Journal writer Erin Neff and Stephens Capital Bureau writer Samantha Young contributed to this report.