A day after the Iowa caucuses and a week from the New Hampshire primary, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid is back blasting the lack of diversity in the states that come before his home of Nevada in the presidential nominating process.  

Asked about the outcome in Iowa, where Sen. Bernard Sanders, I-Vt., finishing very narrowly behind former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Reid highlighted his role in changing the process to put more focus on the subsequent contests in states with more diverse Democratic electorates. His efforts helped move Nevada’s Democratic caucuses earlier in the electoral calendar.  

“I am so happy that I was involved in changing the way we elect presidents,” Reid said Tuesday. “Eight years ago, we had a first focus on something other than Iowa and New Hampshire. Those two states shouldn’t determine who is going to be president of the United States.  

“Did you see the diversity in Iowa last night? Those … huge crowds? I saw, there wasn’t any. And of course we go whip off to New Hampshire. Not many people live there, and there’s no diversity. Moving into Nevada, South Carolina, there’s diversity as is in the rest of the country.”  

“It’s really I think a system. I don’t see it changed tomorrow, but it’s kind of a not very good system to have for decade after decade, Iowa and New Hampshire meaning so much when it has no recognition of what America’s all about as far as diversity and wide-ranging economic issues,” Reid told reporters, restating his longtime opposition to starting with the first two states in the current process.