‘I want you to lose’: Harry Reid has face-to-face confrontation with Democratic Senate candidate
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid had an unusual and feisty in-your-face confrontation on Wednesday with a high-profile Democratic Senate candidate.
The Associated Press reported that Reid was speaking before the Congressional Progressive Caucus when the Senate candidate, Florida Rep. Alan Grayson, interrupted him.
Grayson was upset that Reid criticized him in February as having “no moral compass” and charged that Grayson “used his status as a congressman to unethically promote his Cayman Islands hedge funds,” according to Politico.
“Why’d you say that?” Grayson reportedly asked.
“I want you to lose. It’s true,” came Reid’s reply.
The two Democrats continued the battle after the meeting adjourned, which their offices confirmed to Yahoo News. In a blistering statement, Reid spokesperson Kristen Orthman tore into Grayson for the interruption.
“Senator Reid was honored to be invited by the Congressional Progressive Caucus to discuss issues on which he and they can work together. Alan Grayson decided to be disruptive, to the embarrassment of his fellow colleagues,” she said.
Orthman continued: “Senator Reid took the opportunity to express his low opinion of Congressman Grayson to his face and remind him that the reason Senator Reid has said that Grayson is under ethics investigation and appears to be running a Cayman Islands hedge fund from his Congressional office in order to line his own pockets is because these things are true, as established by seventy-four pages’ worth of evidence from the Congressional Ethics Committee.”
Grayson’s response: “I have a low opinion of Reid’s low opinion.”
The congressman is running an upstart campaign for outgoing Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s seat, which Rubio vacated to run an unsuccessful campaign for president this year.
Much of the Democratic establishment, including the campaign arm of the Senate Democrats, has endorsed Grayson’s House colleague and primary rival, Rep. Patrick Murphy, whom they view as a more viable contender for the general election.
