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.
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.