Did Harry Reid consider leaving the Senate?

Did Harry Reid spend most of this year fighting to keep a job that he had earlier been on the verge of giving up under his own steam? A spokesman for the Senate majority leader says no -- but an unnamed source, apparently sympathetic to Reid's son Rory, tells the Las Vegas Sun that back in 2008 the Nevada senator told his family that he didn't plan to run again.

Because of the elder Reid's assertion, son Rory Reid launched his own 2010 bid for Nevada governor, the source tells the Sun's David McGrath Schwartz.

Harry Reid defeated GOP rival Sharron Angle by nearly 6 percentage points, but his son lost by 11 points to Republican Brian Sandoval—a loss his supporters are blaming on his dad. "At the beginning of the race, [Rory Reid] was led to believe there would not be two Reids as an issue," a source tells the Sun, citing Harry Reid's massive unpopularity in the state.

But come 2009, Reid the elder reportedly changed his mind, sparking a tension between the two campaigns that never quite let up. Sen. Reid's campaign thought Reid's son was dragging his father's bid down. And meanwhile, the younger Reid's campaign was irked that saving the senator's career was taking up Democratic Party resources that could have been focused on winning the governor's seat.

Rory Reid, the source says, was the front-runner before his father announced he would seek a fifth Senate term. That "was before it was apparent that his father's negatives would stick to him like white on rice," the source added. "There was absolutely no oxygen in the room for any race other than the Reid-Angle race."

For his part, Rory Reid told the Sun he won't discuss private conversations he's had with his father.

Harry Reid spokesman Jon Summers says that the story is totally untrue and that the senator had always planned to seek re-election.

(Photo of Harry Reid: Jae C. Hong/AP)