Senate #39;s Top Democrat Harry Reid to Retire
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid says he won #39;t seek re-election to another term. In a video he released Friday, the Nevada Senator said he doesn #39;t want to soak up campaign resources when he...
By: Angel Henry
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Senate's Top Democrat Harry Reid to Retire - Video
When Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) steps down from the Senatein early 2017, Mormonism will lose its highest-ranking elected official -- and the most high-profile example that yes, there is such a thing as a Mormon Democrat.
Mormons arethe most Republican religious group in America, and they are moving to the right. A2007 Pew studyfound about 66 percent identify with the party. By 2012, Pew found that figure had risen, and 74 percent of Mormons identifiedas Republican.
During anaddress at Brigham Young Universityin 2007, Reidtalked about what it was like being a Democrat in a deeplyRepublican faith.
"It is not uncommon for members of the Church to ask how I can be a Mormon and a Democrat," he said. "Some say my party affiliation puts me in the minority of our Church members. But my answer is that if you look at the church membership over the years, Democrats have not always been the minority, and I believe we won't be for long. I also say that my faith and political beliefs are deeply intertwined. I am a Democrat because I am a Mormon, not in spite of it."
It's true that Mormons haven't always been as Republican as they are today. Here's a chart fromSeeking the Promised Land: Mormons and American Politics by David Campbell, John Green, and Quin Monson (it's a must-read for anyone interested in the intersection of Mormonism and politics) that shows how that's changed since 1896. It specifically tracks onlyUtahMormons, but it's telling.
When Reid was first elected to Congress in the 1980s, about 70 percent of Utah Mormons voted Republican. By 2012, that figure reached 90 percent -- though having a fellow Mormon on the ticket in 2012 certainly could be a factor in the record-breaking percentage.
Reid's prediction that Democrats won't always be in the minority in the church came several years before the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would show it doesn't toe the partyline on some hot-button Republican issues. In 2010, the church backed immigration proposals that kept families together and focused on criminal activity rather than federal violations, and this year, Utah's LGBT and religious protections legislation was applauded by LGBT groups, while social conservatives were mostly unimpressed.
[How much influence can a church have over its members' political beliefs? A Mormon case study]
Mormon Democrats are more likely to be women and less likely to be white, mirroring Democratic demographics nationally, but unlike national trends, they're also more likely to be older. Mormons over the age of 65 are 51 percent Republican, compared with 69 percent of those under 30.
So while Mormons very well may one day becomemore Democratic, it just might take awhile for a new generation to start voting. Butby then, theywon't have the high-profile example ofReid to look to.
Originally posted here:
The Fix: Harry Reid and the increasingly rare Mormon Democrat
Harry Reid on Friday became the third Senate Democrat to announce plans to retire in 2016. But notably for his party's chances of regaining the majority, his retirement is the first that clearly opens the door for a Republican pickup.
Republicans meanwhile have a number of incumbents likely to seek reelection in Democratic-leaning states, meaning control of the chamber could well flip again in 2016.
Here is an early look at what the Senate battleground map looks like.
DEMOCRATIC-HELD SEATS:
Colorado: Sen. Michael Bennet was a rare Democratic bright spot in the 2010 tea party wave, holding on to the seat he had been appointed to a year before. But with few other obvious Democratic incumbents to target, Republicans will devote significant effort to unseating Bennet, who had been the chairman of the Senate Democratic campaign committee in 2014.
Nevada: Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval's easy reelection last November helped carry his party to victory in every other statewide race. But Sandoval himself has seemed uninterested in a move to Washington despite Republican efforts to recruit him into the race. A growing Latino population had boosted Reid and President Obama to victory here in the past, but the Democratic bench appears thin. The race is considered an early toss-up until candidates on both sides emerge.
California: Sen. Barbara Boxer was the first Democrat to announce retirement plans. But the early action has been all about which Democrat will replace her, given the dearth of viable options on the Republican side. Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris is seen as the early favorite, but Southern California Democrats, including a number of House members, are considering jumping in as well.
Maryland: The retirement of Sen. Barbara Mikulski, the longest-serving woman in the history of Congress, opens the door for a number of ambitious Democrats to claim a coveted Senate seat. Republicans won the governorship in the state in November in something of an upset, but the state still leans heavily Democratic.
REPUBLICAN-HELD SEATS
New Hampshire: First-term Sen. Kelly Ayotte is a top target for Democrats but has sought to quickly establish herself as a force in the Senate. The state's popular Democratic governor, Maggie Hassan, is expected to run in what would immediately be one of the top 2016 races.
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What Harry Reid's departure means to 2016 battle for Senate control
The surprise retirement of Sen. Harry Reid, the gritty top Democrat in Congress, risks unraveling perhaps the biggest accomplishment of his combative decade in leadership: keeping unruly Democrats united in support of President Obama's agenda and rebuffing an overtly divided GOP.
As recently as a few weeks ago, the former amateur boxer gave every indication he would seek reelection in 2016, despite a New Year's exercise mishap that left him nearly blinded in one eye.
On Friday, the Capitol Hill veteran called it quits, suggesting he preferred to leave a legacy while still in his prime rather than overstay his effectiveness.
Somebody should go when they're still pretty good, Reid said in an interview Friday morning at his home near the Georgetown neighborhood.
The 75-year-old Nevadan made it clear that he was leaving on his own terms not because of his accident, Senate Democrats' new minority status or worries about his upcoming reelection campaign.
I want to be remembered for when I was able to bat third or cleanup a lot of the time, he said, sitting on a comfortable couch dressed in khakis, a gray cardigan and uncharacteristically colorful striped socks his special sunglasses still protecting his injured eye.
For Democrats, the challenge ahead is whether the post-Reid party can tamp down the growing ideological differences between liberal and more centrist Democrats, navigate a rare transfer of party leadership, and avoid the kind of infighting that has all but paralyzed their Republican colleagues.
The timing is particularly sensitive as Democrats look toward the 2016 election, when they have a chance to regain the Senate majority after the Republican takeover this year.
There hasn't been an active campaign for the top Democratic leadership position in either the House or Senate since Reid won his current post in 2005. Eager to avoid a leadership fight, Reid promptly anointed the No. 3 Democrat, Sen. Charles E. Schumer of New York, as his successor.
Schumer, in 22 months if he plays his cards right should be able to do it, Reid said. I said, If you need my help, you got it. If I'm going to be in your way, I'll get out of your way.'
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Sen. Harry Reid's retirement poses challenge for Democratic unity
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid is no Joe Biden, but the Nevada Democrat has certainly offered his share of gaffes, insults and wacky comments over the years.
Indeed, in Reid -- who on Friday announced his retirement after more than three decades in Washington -- Capitol Hill stands to lose not only a battle-hardened, partisan warrior, but a reliable (and sometimes eye-popping) source of candor. Here are some highlights from the Reidisms reel:
Smelly tourists
Praising the opening of the Capitol Visitor Center in 2008, Reid said the new building would help minimize the smell of tourists visiting the Capitol. "My staff has always said, 'Don't say this,' but I'm going to say it again because it's so descriptive because it's true," Reid said at a dedication ceremony for the long-delayed visitor center adjacent to the Capitol. "In the summertime, because [of] the high humidity and how hot it gets here, you could literally smell the tourists coming into the Capitol."
The Iraq war is lost
Reid took heat for his assessment that the Iraq war was lost in early 2007. This war is lost and the surge is not accomplishing anything as indicated by the extreme violence in Iraq, the Democrat told reporters back in April 2007 amid a funding debate. Republicans called his pronouncement demoralizing for U.S. troops on the battlefield.
Obama light-skinned with no Negro dialect
According to the book "Game Change," which chronicled the 2008 presidential election, Reid privately described President Obama as a "light-skinned" African American "with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one. Reid personally phoned the president to apologize and said he regretted using a poor choice of words.
Ted Kennedy's death is going to help us
In an August 2009 interview with the Reno Gazette-Journal, Reid pondered the impact of Sen. Ted Kennedy's death on Democrats' ongoing push for health care reform. "I think it's going to help us," Reid told the paper, saying the Massachusetts Democrat was an inspiration on health care. "That was the issue of his life and he didn't get it done."
The rest is here:
Smell the tourists: With Reid retirement, Capitol Hill loses master gaffe-ster