Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid died on Tuesday at age 82, after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
The former Senator from Nevada had represented Nevada in the Senate from 1987 until he retired in 2017. He served as Senate Majority Leader from 2007–2015 and Senate Minority Leader from 2015-2017.
Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, who served alongside Reid in the Senate from 2009-2017, released the following statement after former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid died at the age of 82:
“Harry Reid never forgot he was from Searchlight, Nevada. He loved his wife Landra and his family. He was a committed public servant and tough as nails.”
Reid began life in a poor rural area of Nevada and rose to the highest ranks of the United States Congress. His crucial leadership of the Senate during President Obama’s administration shepherded the passage of the Affordable Care Act.
In Obama’s last letter to Reid, he credited Reid’s encouragement and support for winning the presidency, saying “I wouldn’t have become president without you.”
“I am saddened by the loss of Senator Harry Reid, who turned the lessons of a bleak childhood into a positive career focused on making life better for everyday Americans as Senate Majority Leader and Senate Minority Leader,” said Colorado Governor Jared Polis. “My condolences to Landra Reid and the friends and family of Senator Reid. Harry Reid’s well-lived life stands as an example for other public servants to fight the good fight for the people.”
Flags on Colorado government buildings have been ordered to half-staff until the burial of Senator Reid.
Former Senator Reid brought himself up from next to nothing to achieve lofty heights amongst United States leadership. He had a tremendous but little-known role in the designation of Browns Canyon National Monument: several of the people he mentored were key in shepherding the designation through the interagency process. It’s no stretch to say we wouldn’t have Browns Canyon National Monument without him and the succeeding generation of conservation leaders he nurtured.
Keith Baker, Buena Vista, CO