TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — There is no “D” next to Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema anymore. She’s not a registered Democrat anymore. She’s a registered independent.
Kyrsten Sinema says she never fit well into any partisan political box.
She says, "I've watched with dismay as I think many Arizonans have in recent years, as the political discourse has just been pulled to the edges by the national political parties. You know, they're so focused on attacking one another and trying to win one over that folks have lost sight of what unites us as a people."
As a Democrat, Sinema spent a lot of time frustrating her own party by teaming with Democratic Senator Joe Manchin to block or force changes to Democratic initiatives in the Senate.
The Senate’s 50-50 split between parties gave Sinema extra leverage.
The Democrats had a 51-49 Senate Majority for the coming year because Georgia Democrat Raphael Warnock won another term. But Sinema’s exit from the Democrats changes that margin. She says the Georgia results did not affect her change to an Independent.
Steve Farley ran for Arizona Governor and is still tuned into Arizona politics.
He says, “So I think she recognized that she would probably lose the Democratic primary. This way she's guaranteed to be on the ballot in the November election.”
He says party activists angry about Sinema’s votes would have worked hard to keep her from being nominated for re-election. He says as an Independent she can bypass the primary, get on the ballot for November 2024, and appeal to a large pool of voters who could not care less about party loyalty and political games.
“They don't like the games people play when they're trying to get something over on the other party. So I think this is a very attractive message that she's entering into independence with ,whether or not that gets excitement for her candidacy is something we'll have to see because traditionally, there is no independents. There is a bunch of people who don't like either party.”
Sinema says when she ran four years ago she said she'd ignore party pressure and be an independent voice.
“So my message to folks across the state is, if you support the work that I've been doing, it's gonna stay the same. And if you haven't enjoyed it, then that's probably also going to stay the same. But I believe the work that I've done for our state reflects the values that we as Arizonans hold dearly.”
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