Jack Reed (Rhode Island politician)

John Francis Reed (born November 12, 1949) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Rhode Island, a seat he was first elected to in 1996.

He served as a paratrooper in the 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division where he was a platoon leader, company commander and battalion staff officer.

Reed attended the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, where he received a Master of Public Policy.

Reed graduated from the United States Military Academy and Harvard University, serving in the U.S. Army as an active officer from 1971 to 1979.

He is the dean of Rhode Island's congressional delegation.

Reed was born in Cranston, Rhode Island, the son of Mary Louise ( Monahan) and Joseph Anthony Reed.

Reed graduated from La Salle Academy and the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1971.

After graduating, he spent several years in active duty military service.

Reed earned the Ranger Tab and was a paratrooper.

He returned to West Point in 1978 as an associate professor in the Department of Social Sciences.

He left active duty in 1979 after earning the rank of captain.

In 1982, he graduated with his Juris Doctor and worked as an associate at the Washington, D.C. office of law firm of Sutherland Asbill & Brennan.

Reed was elected as a state senator in 1984 and served three terms.

Afterward, he returned to Rhode Island and worked for the Providence law firm Edwards and Angell until 1990.

In 1990, Reed was elected to the United States House of Representatives, receiving 59% of the vote in the general election.

For the next six years, he focused on education and health care.

A member of the Democratic Party, he was the U.S. representative for RI's 2nd congressional district from 1991 to 1997.

He served in the United States Army Reserve until 1991, and retired as a major.

After leaving active duty, Reed enrolled in Harvard Law School, where he became a member of the Board of Student Advisers.

When Senator Claiborne Pell, the longest-serving senator in Rhode Island's history and the 13th longest-serving senator in US history, announced his retirement in 1996, Reed declared his candidacy.

Reed won the Democratic primary with 86% of the vote and beat the Republican nominee, Rhode Island General Treasurer Nancy Mayer, 63% to 35%.

Reed ran for a second term.

He was unopposed in the Democratic primary and his Republican opponent was Robert Tingle, a casino pit manager and the unsuccessful Republican nominee for the state's 2nd congressional district in 2000.

Reed won by 78% to 22%.

Reed ran for a third term.

He won the Democratic primary with 87% of the vote.

In the general election, he faced a rematch with Tingle, again winning in a landslide, 73% to 27%.

Reed ran for a fourth term.

Polling showed him leading prospective Republican opponents by margins of between 29% and 65%.

Unopposed in the Democratic primary, Reed faced former congressional nominee and former Rhode Island Republican Party Chairman Mark Zaccaria in the general election.

Reed won in another landslide, 71% to 29%.

Reed ran for a fifth term.

He won the Democratic primary unopposed.

In the general election, he faced investment consultant Allen R. Waters and won in yet another landslide, 67% to 33%.

Reed married professional Senate staffer Julia Hart in a Roman Catholic ceremony in the Catholic chapel on the United States Military Academy campus on April 16, 2005.

On January 5, 2007, their daughter, Emily, was born.

In 2008, Reed was mentioned as a potential vice presidential running mate for Barack Obama.

On July 14, 2008, Reed announced that he was "not interested" in becoming Obama's running mate.

Reed has consistently been mentioned as a possible Secretary of Defense.

In late 2010, he turned down Obama's offer to succeed Robert Gates as Secretary of Defense.