Former Sen. Harry Reid — son of a destitute miner, favorite of the Las Vegas gambling industry and the highest ranking Latter-day Saint politician in U.S. history — left a permanent mark on national politics.

The Democratic bulldog, who died in 2021 after 34 years in Congress, was one of the key figures in flipping Nevada blue, forcing the passage of Obamacare and ending the filibuster on judicial nominations.

An official biography of Reid, released on Jan. 20, details how he fought his way from the tiny town of Searchlight to the heights of American power as Senate majority leader — and how he transformed political norms along the way.

“Reid’s political legacy is indisputable,” writes Jon Ralston, author of the new book, “The Game Changer.” “(He) forever changed Washington with his ruthless, cutthroat style that led to spectacular victories and perpetual dysfunction.”

Ralston, CEO of The Nevada Independent, followed Reid’s career for four decades, starting with Reid’s first Senate campaign in 1986. At one point, Reid tried to get Ralston fired from a local news station — and succeeded.

Then, in 2021, Reid agreed to work with Ralston on a biography, participating in dozens of interviews spanning the course of his career, before he died of pancreatic cancer in December 2021 at the age of 82.

Here are some of the highlights from the life of Nevada’s longest-serving senator, and one of the most notable Democratic game changers of the political landscape in the American West as well as in Washington, D.C.

Biggest accomplishments

It didn’t take long for Reid’s ambition to lead him to politics.

After paying his way through law school as a U.S. Capitol Police officer, Reid was elected to the Nevada Assembly in 1968, where he sponsored 20% of the bills, ranging from increasing pawnshop rates to regulating the phone industry.

Two years later, at age 30, Reid became the youngest lieutenant governor in Nevada history, serving with his former high school history teacher, and mentor, Nevada Gov. Mike O’Callaghan.

After failed campaigns for U.S. Senate in 1974, and Las Vegas mayor in 1975, Reid, who worked as a trial attorney, was elected to the U.S. House in 1982, followed by the U.S. Senate in 1986, where he would stay for 30 years.

During his time in Congress, Reid developed a unique balancing act on his priority issues, advocating ceaselessly for the mining industry he had grown up with, while championing environmentalist causes in his home state.

Reid secured protected status for more than 5 million acres by creating the Great Basin National Park, and helping to establish the Tule Springs Fossil Beds, Basin and Range and Gold Butte national monuments.

After becoming Senate majority leader in 2007, Reid was President Barack Obama’s legislative liaison, lobbying for stimulus funding and negotiating the Affordable Care Act by carving out expensive exceptions for reluctant senators.

Reid is also credited with organizing the “Reid Machine” — a Democratic get-out-the-vote operation that shifted voter registration totals, got Democrats elected and helped designate Nevada as an early Democratic primary state.

Casino controversies

Along the way, Reid made his fair share of enemies.

He was known for his “ruthless” campaign style, which included a tendency to repeat rumors as if true, like implying without evidence that Nevada Gov. Paul Laxalt had used his position to become owner of a $7.5 million casino.

Many of Reid’s own criticisms came from his work with the gambling industry.

Reid was appointed as chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission in 1977, where he informed the FBI on bribery schemes, confronted mob bosses, investigated Howard Hughes and gave a gaming license to Frank Sinatra.

As chair, Reid was credited with helping push the mob out of Las Vegas, denying licenses to individuals like Frank Rosenthal. This came at a cost, including a close call when something that looked like a bomb was placed in his wife’s car.

But Reid came under scrutiny when wiretaps named him as a mob source. While the investigation found Reid never engaged in illegal conduct, recordings identifying Reid as “Clean Face” followed him through his career.

Despite this, Reid never stopped championing the biggest players on the Las Vegas Strip, including by pushing banks during the Great Recession to support the MGM casino, which hired him as a consultant after he left the Senate.

“From the Strip to downtown, Reid was a gaming industry darling and would be for as long as he was in office,” Ralston writes.

Navigating political tension

Like many politicians, Reid evolved over time. But some of his transformations were stark.

As a young lawmaker, Reid had a “100% pro-life voting record.” He opposed Roe v. Wade, voted against federal plans paying for abortion and supported a constitutional amendment banning abortion from conception.

Reid was also one of 38 Democrats who killed the Equal Rights Amendment. But as he rose through party leadership, Reid developed more establishment Democratic views on abortion, same-sex marriage, gun rights and immigration.

While in the House, Reid lambasted Reagan’s immigrant amnesty program for allegedly rewarding lawbreakers by giving them legal status. In 1993, Reid introduced a bill outlawing birthright citizenship and lamented the impacts of mass immigration.

By the time he became majority leader, he was a key supporter of the DREAM Act for minors living in the country illegally, had lost his top rating from the National Rifle Association and had done a total reversal on the “nuclear option.”

In 2005, Reid had been one of the most vocal senators opposing an effort to remove the Senate’s 60-vote, filibuster-proof requirement to pass most legislation. In 2013, Reid did just that for most judicial nominations.

Reid also gained a reputation for his viral “Reidisms,” revealing his proclivity for speaking without a filter.

Such instances include when he called Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan a “political hack,” and President George W. Bush a “liar” and a “loser,” or praised Obama for having “no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one.”

The most famous of these is when Reid accused, without evidence, then-presidential candidate Mitt Romney of not paying taxes, even though Reid, who had significant real estate holdings, secretly had a similar average tax rate.

Throughout his political endeavors, however, Reid remained a devout member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Ralston writes, attending church regularly and reading scriptures every night.

Raised in abject poverty, in a town of several dozen with no church, the first time Reid “learned of a man named Jesus” was in a high school seminary class, which he attended with his friend to meet girls, Ralston writes.

He and his wife, Landra, began to take missionary lessons after eloping to Logan, Utah, to attend Utah State University. The two decided to join the church in 1960. Together Reid and Landra had five children.

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — The American Lung Association in Nevada offered a unique opportunity for participants of the Scale The STRAT event.

For the first time, climbers had the opportunity to practice ahead of the main event scheduled for Feb. 22.

The practice climb took place at Cashman Stadium on Saturday, thanks to a partnership with the Las Vegas Lights.

Deborah Thompson is the Executive Director with the American Lung Association of Nevada. She says, “This is the first time that we actually done a practice climb, and this is an opportunity for people that aren’t sure about doing it, if they’re able to do it and get over their fear.”

Registered participants tested their stair-climbing skills nearly a month before tackling the 1,455 steps of The STRAT Tower.

Additionally, participants could bring a guest to the practice climb, who can register on-site and receive a $10 discount on the regular registration donation.

Liberty and Bishop Gorman’s boys basketball teams added another thrilling chapter to the powerhouse high school programs’ rivalry Friday night.

Every point mattered in a 32-minute battle, but the Patriots prevailed to remain in first place.

Senior Dante Steward scored 19 points for Liberty and the Patriots, ranked No. 1 in the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Class 5A rankings, held on for a 58-56 home win over No. 2 Gorman after Kameron Cooper’s 3-pointer at the buzzer missed.

“We’re excited,” first-year Liberty coach Keith Ulrich said. “Anytime you could beat Bishop Gorman as a public high school, it’s a special moment. It doesn’t get done often in the city of Las Vegas. We had some great energy before the game in anticipation of it and some really good energy after the win and getting it done.”

The win keeps Liberty (19-5, 6-0 5A Southern League) in first place in the standings entering the final week of the regular season. The Patriots could clinch the league regular-season title and No. 1 seed in February’s 5A state tournament with a win over Henderson rival and third-place Coronado on Monday night at Liberty.

On Friday, Steward’s layup with 1:15 remaining gave Liberty a 57-52 advantage. Gorman’s Tyler Bright answered with a 3-point play to cut the deficit to two points with a minute to play.

Twice, Gorman (15-9, 5-1) had opportunities to tie the game in the closing seconds, but Tyler Johnson missed a layup with 15 seconds left and Bright went 1-of-2 at the free-throw line with nine seconds left.

Holding a 57-56 lead, Liberty’s Tyus Thomas made 1 of 2 free throws with 5.7 seconds left. After he made the second foul shot, Gorman’s Dino Roberts raced up the floor and threw it to an open Cooper, whose deep 3-pointer hit the back of the iron and Liberty escaped with the win.

“(Gorman went to a zone defense), which we knew was a possibility, so our zone offense took us a while to get really acclimated into what we need to do and how we need to attack it,” Ulrich said. “We’re at our best when we’re playing fast. The zone kind of slowed us down, so it took us a while to really settle in and be able to execute and make shots.”

Steward led a balanced Liberty scoring attack and added six rebounds and three assists. After Liberty led the entire first half, Gorman went ahead 40-38 with three minutes left in the third quarter. But Steward hit consecutive 3-pointers, which gave the Patriots a 44-42 lead entering the fourth.

“Dante’s been great,” Ulrich said. “He showed up at 6 in the morning for workouts and it was just laser focus. It was almost like he had been waiting for this game for four years. (It’s) his senior year and an opportunity to get a win against Gorman on the home floor. He was not only good offensively, but it was his best defensive game and his best rebounding game of the year.

“We needed every single one of (those points), obviously.”

Tayshawn Caesar added 18 points and five rebounds for Liberty, which led 29-27 at halftime, and Thomas scored 13 points.

“Tayshawn Caesar was really good today,” Ulrich said. “He had some big shots for us and some nice scoring drives against their defense.”

Bright finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Johnson scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half for the Gaels.

Liberty will have a short turnaround to prepare for a talented Coronado team that is another threat among the top three teams in the standings for the state title.

“We knew we had a senior-heavy, experienced team back in August when school started,” Ulrich said. “What makes this group special is not only that they’re talented, but they play as a team and they have each other’s back. They bought into the culture and supporting each other and you can’t win games against Bishop Gorman unless you do that.”

Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.