Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has sold his home and property in the tiny town of Searchlight, Nev., for $1.7 million to move to Las Vegas.
Reid announced the move in a three-minute video posted Monday on his website. He’ll be moving closer to his family but away from his birthplace and a cornerstone of his political narrative.
{mosads}A gold mining company, Nevada Milling and Mining, purchased the home, about 110 acres of surrounding land, water and mineral rights, and eight mining claims from Reid.
He also sold two mining claims in the town to American Capital Energy.
Reid, 74, tamped down speculation about what the sale means for his political future. In the video, he said the move would make his 2016 reelection bid easier.
“I’ve got a reelection coming up, and I’ve been through a few elections commuting from Searchlight, and it is hard. So this will make that part of it much easier,” he said.
Reid plans to buy a home in the Las Vegas area, 60 miles away, in order to be closer to his four children and 16 grandchildren who live in the area. Reid said he and his wife, Landra, made a decision a few years back to sell their home if the opportunity presented itself.
“The three of them, my three boys in Las Vegas, live very close to one another,” Reid said. “And it will be better for Landra and for me.”
Mining operations have sprouted up recently near Reid’s property. He said the new gold mining operation was “too close.”
His office said he would continue to own a number of other properties in Searchlight, a town of about 500 people.
Reid’s autobiography is titled, The Good Fight: Hard lessons from Searchlight to Washington. He also wrote a history of the town in 1998 titled, Searchlight: The camp that didn’t fail.
“To understand Senator Harry Reid, you must look to the small mining town of Searchlight, Nevada,” the opening line of Reid’s biography on his Senate website reads.
Reid grew up in a “small cabin without indoor plumbing” in the town. His father worked as a hard-rock miner there until his death.
“Searchlight is where Harry Reid watched his father work as a hard rock miner,” Reid’s biography goes on. “It’s where he attended a school with one teacher for eight grades. And it’s where he learned Nevada values like hard work, opportunity, and independence.”
This story was posted at 11:24 a.m. and updated at 6:54 p.m.