Frustrated Senate Democrats retain Reid as minority leader

WASHINGTON — Sen. Harry Reid was re-elected leader of the Senate Democrats on Thursday but faced discord among senators still smarting from their deep losses in elections last week.

Reid will become minority leader in the new Senate, which starts in January. Although in past years he was named leader by acclamation, this year there was a vote and it was not unanimous.

No senator stepped forward to challenge Reid, so the dissenting votes amounted to a symbolic protest during the four-hour, closed-door caucus in the historic Old Senate Chamber in the U.S. Capitol.

Although the tally was not made public, Sens. Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Joe Manchin of West Virginia said they were among senators who did not vote for Reid. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, both of Virginia, also voted against him.

“My position was very clear and open,” Manchin said afterwards. “I thought we need change. Anytime in America when you see this type of thing happen to your brand, you make some changes.”

“It’s a matter of sending a message to the American people that we need to change things,” McCaskill said.

During their soul-searching session, 28 Democrats spoke, some expressing frustration over the operations of the Senate that many believe hurt the party during the fall campaigns. In a bid to protect vulnerable incumbents, Reid tightly controlled what amendments could be offered, which frustrated some of his allies as well as Republican opponents.

“Everybody wanted to talk,” Manchin said of the closed-door meeting.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., a deputy on Reid’s leadership team, said, “There was less discord than you’d think. There were a lot of strong speeches, a lot of passion. But a great deal of focus on the future, what we can do differently and make our message stronger.”

Reid mostly listened, and “he was very respectful,” Manchin said.

Responding to criticism that the Democratic leadership had become closed off, Reid agreed to add liberal Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts to a newly created post of strategic policy adviser. Also, moderate Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota took the leadership post that was held by Sen. Mark Begich of Alaska, who was defeated.

Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, a moderate, was named head of the Senate Democrats’ campaign unit.

Reid, who turns 75 next month and is up for re-election in 2016, also repeated that he intends to cooperate with new Republican Senate leaders, not stymie them.

“This is not get-even time,” he said. “We want to legislate, we’re not for stalling. We want to move on in the next Congress with a record of accomplishment.”

HELLER LOSES BID

At the same time down a Capitol hallway, a more exuberant group of Republicans gathered to elect leaders who will hold the majority in the new Congress. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, 72, was named majority leader by acclimation, and his leadership team also was reinstalled.

After eight years in the minority, Republicans picked up at least eight seats from Democrats, and may win a ninth seat next month after forcing Landrieu into a runoff in Louisiana.

In the only contested leadership race, Republicans passed over Sen. Dean Heller of Nevada for the job of protecting their new majority in the U.S. Senate and expanding it if possible.

GOP senators elected Sen. Roger Wicker chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, their political campaign arm. The Mississippian, who has been in the Senate for seven years, will be fundraiser-and-strategist-in-chief for the next two years, culminating in the 2016 elections.

In a secret ballot, Wicker outlasted Heller after a spirited campaign. The voting came as Senate Republicans, whose caucus was expanded to at least 53 members as a result of a near-sweep of contested races in elections last week.

Heller had made more than $400,000 in campaign donations to Republicans running for Senate and to organizations that worked in the fall to build the GOP brand on the state level. On Wednesday, he introduced himself to freshman senators who arrived at the Capitol to begin their orientation.

Wicker also has traveled to support Republicans in recent years, and had contributed heavily to the National Republican Senatorial Committee. He also played a role in rescuing fellow Mississippi Republican Sen. Thad Cochran, who was forced into a runoff this year with a tea party challenger.

“The Cochran race probably played into it quite a bit,” Heller said. “That was the most recent thing on people’s minds. I respect that and understand it.”

The Mississippi senator also contrasted his experience against Heller, who has been a senator for three and a half years. Heller said that was an effective argument.

“You’ve got to understand seniority means a lot here in the Senate,” Heller said. “I know I probably put myself out there a little too early. I heard a lot of feedback that I’ve only been in the Senate for less than four years at this point. But I thought it was an opportunity to get a message out there.”

Heller was nominated by Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah and Sen.-elect Cory Gardner, who won last week in Colorado.

Trained as a stockbroker before entering politics and a member of the Senate Banking Committee, Heller played up his knowledge of finances and told senators he would be at home making money pitches in corporate boardrooms. He said he would be better suited to raising money in the West.

“I think we leave a lot of money on the table in California,” Heller said. “I thought there was an opportunity to raise tens of millions more by having somebody on the West Coast that has ties to Las Vegas, to Los Angeles and Phoenix, which is difficult for someone in Mississippi to do. It takes a Westerner to raise money in the West.”

With the official campaign opportunity by the boards, Heller said he plans to seek a seat on the powerful Senate Finance Committee, a decision up to McConnell that could come later this year or early in the new session.

“I almost believe I made a pitch for both a seat on Finance and chairmanship of the senatorial committee,” Heller said. “Let’s see where we go from there.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760. Find him on Twitter: @STetreaultDC.