Harry Reid said he hopes Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) loses his Senate race against Jaime Harrison (D) on Tuesday, with the former Democratic Senate majority leader alleging Graham “went to the dark side” after his close friend and colleague Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) died in 2018.
The attack from Reid, who retired in 2017, comes as Graham faces a tight contest against Harrison, with the two most recent polls released before Election Day in the Palmetto State showing Graham with just a 3-point and 6-point lead, respectively. In 2014, Graham won by almost 15 points.
“It’s very hard for me to say this because Lindsey and I have worked together on stuff. And when John McCain died, he just went to the dark side,” Reid told MSNBC’s Ayman Mohyeldin. “He was happier playing golf with Donald Trump.”
“I hope that Lindsey loses. That’s difficult for me to say, but I sure hope he loses,” Reid, 80, added.
Graham has repeatedly cited Reid for invoking the so-called “nuclear option” in 2013 when Senate rules were changed to allow Circuit Court nominees to be confirmed by a simple majority instead of the traditional 60 votes.
Republicans voted in 2017 to reduce the threshold for Supreme Court nominees as well, allowing the GOP-led chamber to approve President Trump’s picks for the high court with a simple majority.