In 1910, Reed became personal secretary to Governor
Henry J. Allen in Topeka, who was also owner and publisher of the
Wichita Beacon. Four years later, he purchased controlling interest in the
Parsons Sun newspaper of
Parsons, Kansas, and continued as publisher until his death in 1949. He served on the Kansas Industrial Court from 1920 to 1921, and was a member of the Public Utilities Commission from 1921 to 1924. Reed was
elected Governor of Kansas in 1928, after becoming known as a candidate for being extremely
progressive. Shortly after he moved into the governor's mansion, the
Great Depression began. Reed called an extra session of the
state legislature to combat the troubles faced by Kansans dealing with the depression. Reed was defeated in his bid for renomination in
1930, and returned to newspaper editing. When the anti-Semitic preacher
Gerald B. Winrod ran for the Republican nomination for the
United States Senate in
1938 and seemed likely to win it, Reed was recruited by the mainstream political establishment as a popular figure who could prevent Winrod's nomination. Reed won the nomination and the general election, unseating incumbent Democrat
George McGill, and was re-elected in
1944, and served in that office until his death. While in the Senate, his fellow Kansas Senator was also a former governor,
Arthur Capper. Reed attempted to obtain the 1942
Republican nomination for governor of Kansas but failed. ==Death==