TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — U.S. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid on Friday called for U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson to drop out of the race for a Senate seat in Florida.
Reid said in a statement that Grayson claims to be progressive but seems to have “no moral compass.” He said Grayson used his office to unethically promote a hedge fund that until recently had been based in the Cayman Islands.
Grayson is running in the Democratic primary to replace U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio. His campaign did not immediately respond to Reid’s call to quit the race.
His business activities have come under scrutiny for the past several months. The New York Times on Thursday reported that Grayson promoted his international travels, some with congressional delegations, to solicit business for his hedge fund.
“His actions aren’t just disgraceful to the Democratic Party, they disgrace the halls of Congress,” Reid said.
Reid’s decision to take sides in a Democratic primary is unusual. But the Democratic establishment has been getting behind U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, seeing him as the stronger general election candidate in a swing state.
Grayson, a liberal firebrand who has said the GOP health plan was to hope people die quickly, has contended that he is the only true Democrat in the race.
Republicans have four major candidates: U.S. Rep. Ron Desantis, a tea party favorite backed by conservative groups; U.S. Rep. David Jolly, a former Washington lobbyist and congressional aide; Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera; and businessman Todd Wilcox, who has never run for political office.
Carlos Beruff, a wealthy Manatee County homebuilder, is also likely to jump into the GOP primary.
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