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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, center, (D-NV) heads to a television interview after testifying at a Congressional Oversight Panel Field Hearing at UNLV Tuesday, December 16, 2008. The panel oversees the Treasury Department’s use of authority under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which includes money from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).
Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021 | 5:35 p.m.
A storied life and political career came to an end today with the death of former U.S. Sen. Harry Reid at the age of 82.
From humble beginnings in tiny Searchlight to the halls of the U.S. Capitol, Reid left an indelible mark on Nevada and U.S. politics.
Starting in 1968, he was elected at age 28 to the Nevada Assembly, serving two terms. He would also become the state’s lieutenant governor, chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission and a two-term member of the U.S. House.
He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1987 and served as Senate majority leader from 2007 to 2015.
Here is a timeline of major events in his career.
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1968: Elected to Nevada Assembly at age 28, serving until 1970. Reid quickly built a reputation as a consumer advocate and introduced the state’s first air-pollution legislation.
1971-1975: Served as lieutenant governor of Nevada. He won at age 30, the youngest in state history.
1974: Defeated in his first bid for the U.S. Senate by Nevada Gov. Paul Laxalt, by 611 votes.
1975: Ran an unsuccessful campaign for Las Vegas mayor.
1977-1981: Served as chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission.
1978: Jack Gordon tried to bribe him with $12,000 to make two new casino games legal. Reid worked with the FBI on a sting operation to catch Gordon, and after its completion Reid attempted to choke Gordon, saying, “You son of a bitch, you tried to bribe me!”
1979: Accused of involvement in organized crime. An FBI affidavit unsealed in 1979 reveals mobsters said they felt they had power over Reid; gangster Joe Agosto claimed Reid was in his pocket as “Mr. Clean Face.” Reid denied the allegations, and a five-month investigation cleared him.
1979: Banned Chicago gangster Tony “the Ant” Spilotro from all Las Vegas casinos.
1981: Wife Landra found a car bomb wired to the gas tank of her Oldsmobile station wagon. No one was charged, but Reid maintained it was related to the Gordon case.
1983-1987: Served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.
1986: Elected to the U.S. Senate.
1989: The Nevada Wilderness Protection Act became law on Dec. 5. Reid introduced the bill, which created 13 new wilderness areas, including Mount Charleston.
1992: Reelected to the U.S. Senate.
1995: Martin Scorsese’s film “Casino” included scenes and dialogue inspired by Reid’s time on the Nevada Gaming Commission.
1998: Reelected to the U.S. Senate, barely beating Republican John Ensign by 400 votes. Reid also wrote his first book.
2001: Helped persuade Jim Jeffords, a Republican senator from Vermont, to become an independent. Jeffords voted with the Democrats, briefly giving them a Senate majority.
2003: Conducted an eight-hour filibuster on the Senate floor by reading from his first book, “Searchlight: The Camp that Didn’t Fail,” a history of his hometown. He discussed the relative virtues of wooden matches, preventing the Republican majority from scheduling bills and advancing their judicial nominees before the Thanksgiving break.
2004: Reelected to the U.S. Senate and chosen as Senate minority leader.
2005: Called President George W. Bush a “loser” while speaking to a group of Las Vegas high school juniors.
2005: Went to a Las Vegas hospital after a small stroke.
2006: Named Senate majority leader by Democrats in a unanimous vote.
2006-2007: Encouraged freshman Sen. Barack Obama to run for president. (The book “Game Change” reports 2006, and Reid’s “The Good Fight” reports 2007.)
2008: Published “The Good Fight,” detailing his humble beginning in Searchlight and his career in Washington, D.C.
2008: Appeared on Jon Stewart’s “The Daily Show,” after which Stewart called Reid his worst guest.
2009: In an effort to pass the Affordable Care Act and avoid a Republican filibuster, Reid ensured 60 Democratic votes by offering two holdouts, Sens. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Ben Nelson of Nebraska, funding or exceptions in exchange for their votes. Critics referred to the deals as “The Louisiana Purchase” and “The Cornhusker Kickback.”
2009: A special election to replace the late Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy forced Reid and Senate Democrats to vote Christmas Eve morning on the ACA. The bill passed without a single Republican vote.
2009: Helped push a 1,100-page economic stimulus plan through Congress in under a month and direct funds to Nevada’s renewable energy industry.
2010: Reelected to the U.S. Senate, beating Tea Party favorite Sharron Angle.
2010: Helped pass the Travel Promotion Act, which boosted international tourism to Las Vegas.
2010: Apologized for comments on President Obama’s skin color and dialect made during the 2008 campaign after “Game Change” was published.
2011: Attacked Nevada’s legal prostitution, despite learning to swim at a brothel in his hometown of Searchlight.
2011: Pushed through a law expanding who has access to electricity generated by the Hoover Dam, and announced the first hybrid geothermal and solar plant at Stillwater Geothermal Plant.
2012: Remarked that Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney hadn’t paid taxes for 10 years, a falsehood for which he has refused to apologize.
2012: Involved in a car accident in Las Vegas and refused to stop working from the hospital.
2012: After the reelections of Sen. Reid and President Obama, Reid encouraged the president to halt deportation of millions of undocumented young immigrants through executive order, which he did.
2012: Sidelined Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s efforts to extend Bush-era tax cuts to all brackets as opposed to those making $250,000 or less as Obama had recommended, calling McConnell’s plan “help Paris Hilton legislation.”
2013: On Nov. 21, led an historic vote to change Senate rules to ban filibusters on nominations other than the Supreme Court. Called the “nuclear option,” it allows a simple majority to approve presidential nominations.
2013: Supported the Dream Act and saw immigration reform pass the Senate, a goal since he became majority leader in 2007. It stalled in the House.
2014: Helped Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval bring a Tesla lithium ion battery factory to Northern Nevada.
2014: Pushed eight stalled Nevada land bills through Congress.
2014: Having implemented the “nuclear option,” the Senate appointed dozens of the president’s federal judges.
2015: Suffered from serious injuries after an exercising incident on New Year’s Day.
2015: In March, announced his retirement for the U.S. Senate after a 30-year career.
2016: Supported Senate candidate Catherine Cortez Masto, who won his long-held seat.
2016: After Hillary Clinton’s loss, issued a scathing statement on President-elect Donald Trump.
2017: Retired in January
2017: Joined the Boyd School of Law at UNLV as its first distinguished fellow in law and policy
2017: Teamed with Sandoval to host the ninth-annual National Clean Energy Summit at the Bellagio.
2018: Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
2018: Inducted into the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame.
2018: UNLV breaks ground on the Harry Reid Research and Technology Park, where students will work on research, economic development and business incubation projects.
2019: A Las Vegas jury rejected a lawsuit Reid made against an exercise band maker he blamed for injuries in an exercise incident.
2020: Endorsed Joe Biden for president.
2021: Las Vegas airport renamed the Harry Reid International Airport for Reid.
