Reid plans minority leader run

Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) does not have any second thoughts about staying on as the Senate Democratic leader after the drubbing his party took on election night.

Spokesman Adam Jentleson vowed that Reid will lead his party’s remaining members in the chamber next year.

“Sen. Reid will run for minority leader,” he said Tuesday.

{mosads}Jentleson told The Hill last month that Reid would keep his post as Democratic leader regardless of the elections’ outcome.

Senate Democrats fared worse than expected Tuesday and could lose a total of nine or 10 seats when all the votes are tallied.

The party shed at least seven seats; the contests in Alaska, a staunchly Republican state, and Virginia remain too close to call. Sen. Mary Landrieu (D) is headed for a runoff in Louisiana, where she garnered 42 percent of the vote Tuesday.

Some Democrats privately predicted before this week that Reid might feel some pressure to step aside if his party stumbled badly in the midterms. Republican candidates around the country made his leadership an issue, and “Fire Harry Reid” became their rallying cry.

Sen. Charles Schumer (N.Y.), the third-ranking member of the Democratic leadership, is Reid’s most likely successor, but sources close to him say he remains intensely loyal and will not wage a challenge.

Unless Reid decides on his own that it’s time for a fresh face atop the Senate Democratic leadership, the job of Senate minority leader appears to be his.

Reid declined during a press conference before the elections to say whether he would stay on as Senate Democratic leader if his party lost control of the chamber. He predicted at the time that Democrats would keep their majority.