--- title: Harry Reid Endorses Hillary Clinton description: Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid backed Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. canonical: https://time.com/4235959/harry-reid-endorses-hillary-clinton/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-02-24T18:27:56.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-05T08:41:16.488Z article:section: Politics og:title: Harry Reid Endorses Hillary Clinton og:description: He backed Obama in 2008. og:url: https://time.com/4235959/harry-reid-endorses-hillary-clinton/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6d97dc9a938eaab1/69887f01196cf446a403a7b1/gettyimages-501469724.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Senate Lawmakers Address The Media After Their Weekly Policy Luncheons og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Harry Reid Endorses Hillary Clinton twitter:description: He backed Obama in 2008. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6d97dc9a938eaab1/69887f01196cf446a403a7b1/gettyimages-501469724.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Harry Reid Endorses Hillary Clinton > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=954cebad-0913-4004-a605-64ab15f7b6a4&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: TIME Raw: Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid Endorses Clinton [Watch (HLS stream): TIME Raw: Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid Endorses Clinton](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/xSiryYRb.m3u8) (1:13)  _Published 2016-02-24_ by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Feb 24, 2016 6:27 PM UTC by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Feb 24, 2016 6:27 PM UTC Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid backed Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, becoming the [39th and highest-ranking endorsement](http://www.rollcall.com/endorsementtracker/) from a sitting Democratic Senator. [In an interview with CNN](http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/24/politics/hillary-clinton-harry-reid-endorsement/index.html), the Nevada Senator called for Democrats to consolidate support behind the former Secretary of State, arguing she would be better for the middle class than rival Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. “I think that my work with her over the years has been something that I have looked upon with awe. She was the first lady. She started the trend toward looking to do something about health care. She understood the issue well, she was the front on the health care during that administration,” he told CNN. Reid’s endorsement came four days after Clinton [won a hard-fought race](http://time.com/4231582/nevada-democratic-primary-caucus-results-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders/) in his home state’s caucuses, and eight years after [he endorsed Barack Obama](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/reid-formally-endorses-obama/) over Clinton in the 2008 primary. According to CNN, Reid called Sanders to tell him about the endorsement beforehand. Overall, Clinton has the support of 192 Democratic members of Congress, while Sanders has only three endorsements from Representatives and none from his fellow Senators, according to [an endorsement tracker from Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call](http://www.rollcall.com/endorsementtracker/). One Democratic Representative also endorsed former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, who has since dropped out. ## Transcript I think the middle class would be better served by Hillary. I think that my work with her over the years has been something that I've looked upon with awe. When she was the First Lady she started the trend toward doing something about healthcare. She understood the issue well. She was the front on healthcare during that administration. When she came to the Senate, which by the way I admire her courage very much in running for the Senate out of New York. People said, how could she do that? She was elected twice in New York and was a good Senator. I recognized her skills immediately And made her in charge of the steering committee, which is the educational arm of the Senate. She's a person who is a very quick learner. All you need to do is look at what happened after 9 / 11. Gee, did she do a good job. She fought for New York like I've never seen anyone fight for anything. And as a result of that, She focused attention on how senators should fight for their states, and not only unnatural disaster like that was, but natural disasters. 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