Democrats lost the U.S. Senate and many put the blame squarely on Harry Reid.
Yet Reid kept his job as leader of Democrats in the Senate. And his Republican colleague, Nevada's Dean Heller, lost his bid to become a party leader.
Politico.com reporter Manu Raju, who covers Congress in Washington, D.C., recently penned the article, "How Harry Reid Kept His Job".
Raju told KNPR's State of Nevada that Reid kept his job by promising change. That change was symbolized by the elevation of Massachusetts Democrat Elizabeth Warren into a party leadership position created especially for her.
On the flipside, Raju said, Heller lost his bid to be the Senate Republican Campaign chairman because he came out so strongly against Reid, calling Reid's ouster his "top priority."
Heller's Republican colleagues "were not convinced he would be able to go against his home state senator, when those two have to work on local issues pretty regularly," Raju said. "There was also the question of whether (Heller) would be able to rely on his big fundraising base in Nevada when Harry Reid will be leaning on a lot of the same donors for money for his own campaign."
But will Reid even run for another term in 2016?
Raju isn't certain.
"If you talk to people, he is running right now but that could change in the next few months," he said. "I wouldn't be surprised in the next few months if he decides not to."
Reid's best argument to voters is that if he is replaced, a new senator will be at the bottom of the senatorial seniority ladder. And even though Democrats lost big in the mid-term elections, they could fare better in 2016 when selection of a new president will drive more people -- "and Hispanics and young people," Raju added -- to the polls.
GUEST
Manu Raju, senior congressional reporter, POLITICO
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