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Harry Reid Says Selling His Desert Home for $1.7 Million Will Create Jobs

Chuck Ross Investigative Reporter
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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is selling his longtime home and several mining claims in Searchlight, Nevada for $1.7 million in an exchange he says will also create jobs.

Reid’s impoverished upbringing in Searchlight, a town of nearly 600 around 60 miles outside of Las Vegas, has been a part of his narrative on the campaign trail and during his time in Congress.

But he and wife Landra are parting with their home and the natural resources lying underneath it to be closer to their four children and 16 grandchildren who live in Las Vegas.

In a deal that closed Friday, the Reids are selling their Searchlight home, 110 acres, eight mining claims and mineral and water rights for the property to Nevada Milling and Mining, a gold mining company.

The company began pursuing the Reids last year, according to a statement from the senator’s website.

“The mine will create approximately 60 new jobs in Searchlight and bring economic development to the region according to the company,” reads the statement.

Reid will sell two other mining claims near Searchlight to American Capital Energy, according to the Associated Press.

“Landra and I love Searchlight, the place of my birth, and the memories we have had there, but the time came to sell and do something different,” said Reid, who also said that campaigning from Searchlight has proved difficult.

The Democratic senator is up for re-election in 2016.

Reid’s grandparents settled in Searchlight in the early 20th century, and his father worked as a hard-rock miner.

“Searchlight will always remain my home, my favorite spot in the world where I can look at the quiet desert for miles at end,” Reid said.

Reid wrote a book titled “Searchlight: The Camp That Didn’t Fail,” documenting the history of the town.

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