U.S. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid on Friday called for U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson to drop out of the race for a Senate seat in Florida.

Reid said in a statement that Grayson claims to be progressive but seems to have "no moral compass." He said Grayson used his office to unethically promote a hedge fund that until recently had been based in the Cayman Islands.

Grayson is running in the Democratic primary to replace U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio. His campaign did not immediately respond to Reid's call to quit the race.

His business activities have come under scrutiny for the past several months. The New York Times on Thursday reported that Grayson promoted his international travels, some with congressional delegations, to solicit business for his hedge fund.

""Alan Grayson claims to be a progressive, but it seems like he has no moral compass. These deeply troubling allegations should disqualify anyone from a seat in the U.S. Senate. Alan Grayson used his status as a congressman to unethically promote his Cayman Islands hedge funds, and he should drop out of the Senate race immediately. His actions aren't just disgraceful to the Democratic Party, they disgrace the halls of Congress," Reid said.

Reid's decision to take sides in a Democratic primary is unusual. But the Democratic establishment has been getting behind U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, seeing him as the stronger general election candidate in a swing state.

Grayson, a liberal firebrand who has said the GOP health plan was to hope people die quickly, has contended that he is the only true Democrat in the race.

Grayson released the following statement on Friday:

I'm running against a rigged system and the Washington Establishment, so it's no surprise that its departing figurehead, who failed so badly in the 2014 Senate races, relies on a false and misleading hyped story to try to pressure me out of this race. The reason why he is making such an absurd statement at all is that he knows that I’m well ahead in the polls, and heading for a strong primary victory. Sen. Reid may well prefer corrupt Establishment errand boy Patrick Murphy, who routinely sells his vote to Wall Street lobbyists, and just last week hid from voting on his own bill providing amnesty to white-collar criminals. Patrick Murphy publicly called on national TV for cuts across the board in Social Security and Medicare, among other essential programs. Those are actions that truly disgrace our party and the Halls of Congress. Sen. Reid managed to find a way to lose six out of seven open Senate seats in 2014, and lose six incumbent Democrats when the GOP lost none. Now he is personally attacking the clear choice of Florida Democrats, making the party into a circular firing squad. The story to which he refers is replete with misleading statements, innuendo and outright lies, and despite that, there is nothing in the report that even suggest any improper or unethical conduct. I never used my Congressional office to advance any business interest or for personal gain, and to say so is utterly deceitful. I resent the attack on my 'morality,' and I question the morality and judgment of any elected official, much less one in my own party, who would sink so low as to engage in such a smear. Thank goodness that he will be gone from Washington, DC when I am sworn into the Senate.

Republicans have four major candidates: U.S. Rep. Ron Desantis, a tea party favorite backed by conservative groups; U.S. Rep. David Jolly, a former Washington lobbyist and congressional aide; Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera; and businessman Todd Wilcox, who has never run for political office.

Carlos Beruff, a wealthy Manatee County homebuilder, is also likely to jump into the GOP primary.