Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev) speaks during a news conference ahead of the CNN Democratic Presidential Debate at the Wynn Las Vegas Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2015.
Published Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2015 | 1:03 p.m.
Updated Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2015 | 1:55 p.m.
A day after blasting the presidential nominating contests in Iowa and New Hampshire, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid doubled down on his comments, facetiously apologizing for his remarks.
Remarking on the states with the first two presidential nominating contests, Reid said Monday that there weren’t any minorities in New Hampshire and that “nobody” lives in Iowa.
“I apologize,” Reid said at a news conference before tonight’s Democratic debate in Las Vegas. Afterward, his staff said the apology was meant to be tongue-in-cheek.
Nevada is home to the nation’s third nominating contest, a caucus in February, and will be a hub of presidential action until the 2016 general election.
When Reid was Senate majority leader, he helped push Nevada from a middle primary state to the nation’s third contest. He said he was proud Nevada is in the spotlight.
Eight years ago, Nevada elected to hold the caucus. Reid criticized state Republicans, who tried to change Nevada’s spot in the process during the 2015 Legislature.
“We’ve been so successful and Republicans tried to take it away,” he said.
Reid also fielded questions about Vice President Joe Biden’s potential bid for the White House, saying Biden would not make a surprise appearance at the debate.
Reid, who has yet to endorse a Democrat, said he is not consulting with Biden on a presidential run.
“He doesn’t need my advice,” Reid said.
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