Harry Reid won't seek re-election next year

Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has announced that he won't seek re-election next year.

Reid told The New York Times that his decision to retire was not due to his demotion to Senate minority leader after November's midterm elections. The announcement comes after Reid suffered an eye injury in January in an exercise accident.

Reid, who has led Senate Democrats since 2005 and has served in Congress for more than three decades, told the Times, "I want to be able to go out at the top of my game."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

In a farewell video, Reid says that being the Senate's minority leader is "just as important" as being majority leader. "It gives you so much opportunity to do good things for this country," Reid says. He even gets in a dig at Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, advising him not to be "too elated" over the news, because he'll still be around to push Democratic ideas for months to come. —Meghan DeMaria