Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

A timeline of Sen. Harry Reid’s political career

Harry Reid At Obama Speech

Steve Marcus

Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev) attends a speech on immigration by President Obama at Del Sol High School Friday, Nov. 21, 2014.

1961 — Graduates from Utah State University with degrees in political science and history; takes job as a Capitol police officer while attending law school at George Washington University.

1964 — Hired as the Henderson city attorney.

1968 — Wins election to the Nevada State Assembly at the age of 28.

1970 — At age 30, becomes the youngest lieutenant governor in Nevada history, winning as the running mate with Governor and mentor Mike O’Callaghan.

1974 — Is defeated by former Nevada Gov. Paul Laxalt in his first election bid to the Senate.

1975 — Runs unsuccessfully for mayor of Las Vegas.

1977 — Appointed chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission and is targeted with death threats from the mob.

1982 — Wins first of two terms in the House of Representatives.

1986 — Elected to the U.S. Senate.

1992 — Re-elected to the U.S. Senate.

1998 — Re-elected to the U.S. Senate and made Senate minority whip.

2004 — Re-elected to the U.S. Senate and chosen as Senate minority leader.

2007 — Becomes Senate majority leader by unanimous vote of his Democratic colleagues.

2010 — Elected to his fifth Senate term.

2015 — At age 75, announces he will not seek re-election in 2016.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy