Reid was born in New York, New York and he graduated from Deerfield Academy and Yale University. His family owned the New York Herald Tribune. From 1959 to 1961, Reid was the U.S. Ambassador to Israel. Reid was elected to Congress as a Republican in 1962. On March 22, 1972, Reid switched parties and joined the Democratic Party. Reid said that he could not support Richard Nixon for re-election and the Republican party had "moved to the right" and was "not showing the compassion and sensitivity to meet the problems of the average American." Reid defeated a Republican challenge later on in 1972. Reid declined to seek re-election in 1974 and he ran for Governor of New York briefly, dropping out of the race before the election.