Biography of Harry Reid
Harry Mason Reid was born on December 2, 1939 in Searchlight, Nevada, is the senior United States Senator from Nevada and a member of the Democratic Party. First elected to the Senate in 1986, he was re-elected in 1992, 1998, and 2004.
Reid has been the Senate Majority Leader since January 2007, having previously served as Minority Leader from 2005 until the Democrats won control of the Senate in the 2006 midterm elections. He earlier served as Senate Minority Whip (1999–2001, 2001, 2003–2005) and Senate Majority Whip (2001, 2001–2003).
Before his election to the Senate, Reid was a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Nevada’s 1st congressional district from 1983 to 1987. A native of Searchlight and graduate of Utah State University and George Washington University Law School, he previously served as city attorney of Henderson (1964–1966), a member of the Nevada Assembly (1969–1970), Lieutenant Governor of Nevada (1970–1974), and chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission (1977–1981).
The son of Inez and Harry Reid, a miner in the camp 50 miles southeast of Las Vegas. He attended Basic High School in Henderson, Nevada, where he boarded in town and played football and was an amateur boxer. While at Basic he met future Nevada governor Mike O’Callaghan, who was a teacher there. Reid attended Southern Utah University and Utah State University.
Reid graduated from George Washington University Law School with a J.D. while working for the United States Capitol Police. 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.
In 1959, Reid married his high school sweetheart, Landra Gould. They have five children, a daughter and four sons. Their eldest son, Rory Reid, is an elected Commissioner for Clark County, Nevada, and another son recently ran for municipal office in Cottonwood Heights, Utah.
In 1959, Reid married his high school sweetheart, Landra Gould. They have five children, a daughter and four sons. Their eldest son, Rory Reid, is an elected Commissioner for Clark County, Nevada, and another son recently ran for municipal office in Cottonwood Heights, Utah.