Reid exit sparks leadership shake-up

Susan Davis | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption What does Harry Reid's retirement mean for the Senate? Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid announced he will not seek re-election. Reporter Jon Ralston discusses the effect this may have on the political landscape.

WASHINGTON — Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid's retirement has sparked a fast-moving shake-up of his party's leadership team for the next Congress.

Reid, ever the tactician, moved quickly Friday to position New York Sen. Charles Schumer, one of his top deputies, as the next Democratic leader.

In an interview with The Washington Post, Reid endorsed Schumer as his successor and said he believed Durbin would not oppose the New York senator's bid. Reid spokeswoman Kristen Orthman confirmed the endorsement to USA TODAY.

Reid's No. 2, Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., likewise endorsed Schumer by Friday afternoon. A spokesman said he intends to seek re-election to his whip post.

By late Friday afternoon, Schumer formally declared his intention to run. "I am honored and humbled to have the support of so many of my colleagues and look forward to our Senate Democratic Caucus continuing to fight for the middle class," he said in a statement.

The moves could elevate up the leadership ladder another Reid deputy, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. Murray had not commented on her intentions by Friday afternoon, but she was traveling to the West Coast ahead of a two-week congressional recess.

Speculation on who would succeed Reid has long centered on Schumer, an ambitious and well-connected lawmaker whose two terms at the helm of the Democrats' campaign operation helped the party capture the Senate majority in 2006 and grow it in 2008. In a statement Friday, Schumer praised Reid as "one of the best human beings I've ever met" and said he was respected by the Democratic Caucus for "his strength, his legislative acumen, his honesty and his determination."

If Murray made a run at a move up the leadership ladder, she could be a quietly formidable candidate with a natural base of support among the Senate's Democratic women. A former Budget Committee chairwoman and also a two-term chairwoman of the Senate Democratic campaign operation, Murray has assembled allies across the party's ideological spectrum.

Murray is also a senior member of the powerful Appropriations Committee and could hold out for a chance at that gavel. The panel's top Democrat, Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski, is retiring.

Murray could also benefit from broader political pressure to keep a woman in the high ranks of party leadership. Sens. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts all hold appointed, lower-tier leadership posts.

A surprise bid by someone like Warren — who enjoys support from the party's progressive base — could rock a leadership race, but Warren's office made clear Friday that she would not run for leader.

By Friday evening, Schumer was the prohibitive frontrunner.

Senate leadership races are rare and unpredictable. The last time Senate Democrats saw a competitive bid for leader was in 1994, between then-senators Tom Daschle, D-S.D., and Chris Dodd, D-Conn. The race divided the caucus and resulted in a one-vote victory, 24-23, for Daschle, who went on to serve as party leader for 10 years until he was defeated in a re-election bid by Sen. John Thune, R-S.D.

More often than not, leadership races are decided without drama and by acclamation. The vast majority of senators have never witnessed a contested leadership race. Of the 46 senators who caucus with Democrats, which includes two independents, just six of them were in the Senate in 1994 for the last competitive Senate leadership race.

Of those six, three are retiring: Reid, Mikulski and Barbara Boxer of California. The three that remain are Sens. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, Dianne Feinstein of California and Murray.