Christopher Reed

Christopher Reed
Personal details
Born	Solon, Iowa
Political party	Republican
Residence	Marion, Iowa
Occupation	Small businessman
Religion	Christianity
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	5

Christopher Reed (born 1972) was the Republican nominee in the 2008 Senate election in Iowa, losing to Senator Tom Harkin. Reed was unsuccessful in a bid for the Republican nomination for Congress in Iowa's 2nd District in 2010.

Early life

Reed was born and reared in the small rural town of Solon, Iowa, in the eastern part of the state. He graduated from Solon High School, where he participated in wrestling, and entered the United States Navy.^[1] He served for five years, stationed at Submarine Base New London in Connecticut and then the USS San Jacinto (CG-56) in Virginia.

He and his wife, Kim, currently reside in Marion, Iowa. They have four children.

In 1998, Reed founded Iowa Answering Service, Inc., a 24-hour answering service. Since then it has accumulated over 200 clients. The company is based in Cedar Rapids.^[2]

2008 U.S. Senate campaign

Reed narrowly won a three-way Republican primary on June 3, 2008, defeating George Eichhorn, a former member of the Iowa House of Representatives, and businessman Steve Rathje.^[3]

Having been nominated, Reed challenged four-term incumbent Democrat Tom Harkin. He ran on a self-described "solid conservative" platform, declaring that Harkin was supporting a misguided Democratic agenda. He also attacked Harkin for being out of touch with Iowans, citing that as chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Harkin had taken a "hands-off" approach to the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, better known as the "Farm Bill". Reed charged that Harkin should have been "elbow-deep" in the issue. The bill passed in both houses of Congress by an overwhelming majority twice, overriding President George W. Bush's veto.^[4]

Reed further accused his opponent of no longer truly representing Iowa, saying that he rarely visited his official residence in Cumming and spent far more time in Alexandria, Virginia and his vacation home in the Bahamas, for which Iowa Republicans have attacked Harkin throughout his tenure.

Difficulties facing Reed's campaign included a relatively small amount of name recognition and fundraising compared to Harkin. As of September 29, 2008, Harkin led Reed in the polls by 14%. In addition Harkin was shown to be more popular among unaffiliated voters, women, and men.^[5]

Harkin easily defeated Reed in the general election on November 4, 2008, with 63% of the vote, as opposed to Reed's 37%.

Political positions

Reed supports cutting taxes as a way to stimulate the troubled economy. He is strongly against illegal immigration and supports a border fence and an end to giving residential benefits to illegal immigrants. He opposes rapid withdrawal from Iraq, claiming that withdrawal would embolden enemies to attack the United States. He is strongly anti-abortion. He wants to end American dependence on foreign oil by expanding drilling for oil in Alaska and Utah as well as introducing ethanol as an alternative fuel. He is also in favor of gun rights and has been endorsed by the Gun Owners of America group.^[6]

See also

• United States Senate election in Iowa, 2008

References

External links

• Christopher Reed Official 2010 Campaign Website