Harry Reid Don’t Care If You’re Mad About His New Hampshire Diss

Senator Harry Reid CNN Democratic Presidential Debate, Las Vegas, America - 13 Oct 2015 (Rex Features via AP Images)
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has brought on the wrath of New Hampshire Republicans and Democrats alike by suggesting that the Granite State, along with Iowa, does not deserve its early primary state status considering its lack of diversity.

And he doesn’t care if those remarks have early staters in a tizzy.

Unlike so many politicians who pander to New Hampshire and Iowa, Reid — who is not running for reelection to his Senate seat — dug in and did not yield on his comments.

Reid “apologized” Tuesday afternoon, telling reporters in Las Vegas, “New Hampshire is heavily populated and loaded with a lot of minorities, my apologies.”

The fuss started at a Monday evening panel sponsored by the Washington Post in Las Vegas, during which Reid said he was “terribly upset about how we chose our presidents.”

“You go to New Hampshire and there are no minorities there and nobody lives there and there are no minorities,” Reid said, in remarks that were posted online by a GOP Super PAC. “You go to Iowa and there are a few people there but again that does not demonstrate what America is all about for different reasons.”

By Tuesday morning, New Hampshire’s Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan — whom Reid reportedly recruited to run for a Senate seat in 2016 (reports Reid’s office denied) — issued a statement called his comments “insulting” and demanded an apology.

“Our first-in-the-nation primary is a cherished responsibility for Granite Staters, a responsibility we hold because we invented it, and because we do it exceptionally well,” the statement said, according to WMUR Manchester.

The state’s Republican and Democratic senators both also condemned the remarks.

“Harry Reid knows nothing about New Hampshire, our people, or the important role we play in vetting presidential candidates on both sides of the aisle,” Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) said, according to WMUR.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), meanwhile, told reporters Reid, “doesn’t understand the New Hampshire primary and why it is so important to the presidential selection process.”

“And clearly he hasn’t been to New Hampshire,” she said, according to New Hampshire Public Radio.

Latest Livewire

Notable Replies

  1. Harry Reid said a true statement. New Hampshire demonstrates their wisdom and acumen by putting Trump at the top of the polls.

  2. Who the hell is WRITING these?
    What’s next? Titles that consist completely of emojis?

  3. Avatar for bdtex bdtex says:

    Like BHO,he’s unloading some “give a f**ks” too. :grinning:

  4. Reid is correct, it is insane that we start out the process in three states with a combined 19 electoral votes.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

43 more replies

Participants

Avatar for system1 Avatar for bdtex Avatar for lestatdelc Avatar for colleen7 Avatar for jsfox Avatar for littlegirlblue Avatar for silas1898 Avatar for brooklynmichael Avatar for humpback Avatar for juliagrey Avatar for sniffit Avatar for chelsea530 Avatar for dcobranchi Avatar for rational Avatar for mike_in_houston Avatar for spocksblackpants Avatar for midnight_rambler Avatar for neal_anderthal Avatar for dainla Avatar for hjs62 Avatar for riverstreet Avatar for khaaannn Avatar for s_man_48 Avatar for Landshark2995

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: