Christopher Reed

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.

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. 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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Controversies

On October 23, Reed and Senator Harkin met for a debate on Iowa Public Television. During the debate, Reed made personal attacks on Harkin, accusing him of being the "Tokyo Rose of Al-Qaeda and Middle East terrorism" and calling him "anti-American" and alleging that he provided "aid and comfort to the enemy" in a speech calling for the closure of the United States military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

After the debate, both Harkin and moderator David Yepsen chastised Reed for the attacks. Yepsen said that he had "never heard a candidate make that kind of serious charge about his opponent." Yepsen also wrote that immediately after the end of the broadcast Harkin had informed Reed that he had ended his political career by making the comments. Harkin later said that Reed's comments were "beyond the pale" and "ought not be part of political discourse...anywhere...."

Reed also drew some criticism for writing a blog post in which he wrote that "Harkin wants marriage to be between any 2, 3 or multiple people of any and all sexes. Heck, as far as he is concerned, you could marry your horse if it makes you happy."

Reed supports cutting taxes as a way to stimulate the 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.