Sinema to be a One and Done Senator
State of the Union: Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema will not seek reelection.
Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema announced Tuesday she will not be seeking reelection come November.
In a video statement posted Tuesday afternoon, Sinema claimed the Senate is a hyper partisan, dysfunctional place. “Because I choose civility, understanding, listening, working together to get stuff done, I will leave the Senate at the end of this year,” the independent senator said. Sinema, still in her first term, has chosen to be one and done.
Elected in 2018 as a Democrat, Sinema changed her political affiliation to independent in 2022. Though the Arizona senator continued to caucus with Democrats, it was the beginning of the end of Sinema’s senate career. Democrats are running Rep. Ruben Gallego to replace Sinema. He’ll likely square off against Republican candidate Kari Lake come November.
Sinema was trailing both Gallego and Lake in the polls, but where her centrist supporters run to next is hard to say. Upon learning about Sinema’s announcement, Gallego tweeted, “I want to thank @SenatorSinema for her nearly two decades of service to our state. Arizona, we are at a crossroads. Protecting abortion access, tackling housing affordability, securing our water supply, defending our democracy—all of this and more is on the line. It’s time Democrats, Independents, and Republicans come together and reject Kari Lake and her dangerous positions.”
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Lake fired off a tweet of her own, wishing Sinema “the best in her next chapter”: “As a Journalist, I covered Kyrsten Sinema for many years. We may not agree on everything, but I know she shares my love for Arizona. Senator Sinema had the courage to stand tall against the Far-Left in defense of the filibuster—despite the overwhelming pressure from the radicals in her party like Ruben Gallego who called on her to burn it all down.”
Sen. Steve Daines, the current NRSC chairman, welcomed Sinema’s exit. “With recent polling showing Kyrsten Sinema pulling far more Republican voters than Democrat voters, her decision to retire improves Kari Lake’s opportunity to flip this seat,” Daines claimed.
In a head to head matchup between Lake and Gallego, current polls suggest it’s neck and neck for the seat that may determine which party controls the senate come 2025.