Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) called Rep. Cory Gardner (R., Colo.) a "real loser," in off the cuff remarks at a Democratic fundraiser last week.
The Colorado Observer reports:
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid inserted himself inadvertently into Colorado’s Senate race after a national publication reported that the Democrat disparaged Rep. Cory Gardner at a private fundraiser last Thursday.
Reid said the Colorado Republican was a "real loser," according to Politico, which got hold of an audio recording at the event in support of a Senate Democratic hopeful. Reid concluded that Democrats would retain their majority in the upper chamber if the election were held today and criticized a few Senate Republican candidates by name, reporters Manu Raju and Burgess Everett wrote.
Informed of Reid’s reported remark, Republican lawmakers described Reid as an arch-foe of their political and legislative efforts in Congress. They believe Reid thinks that Gardner’s candidacy is a threat to his job as the highest-ranking Democrat in Congress.
Sen. Mark Udall (D., Colo.), who is facing a tough reelection fight from Gardner, claimed he had not heard about Reid’s remark and declined to comment, according to the Observer.
Reid was recorded at a campaign event in support of Kentucky Secretary of State and Alison Lundergan Grimes, who is mounting a campaign against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R.).
"Each day that goes by, Mark Udall is ahead by more in Colorado because this guy he’s running against is a real loser," Reid said, to some laughter from the Democratic donor audience. The latest polling shows Udall and Gardner in a statistical dead heat.
Rep. Tom Cotton (R.), who is running for senate in Arkansas, said, "You can expect Sen. Reid to sink too low."