BREAKING: AZ Senator Kyrsten Sinema Won't Run for Re-election
PJ MediaMar 05
Arizona Senator Sinema Won't Seek Reelection
Image copyright: Kevin Dietsch/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Facts
Centrist Arizona US Sen. Kyrsten Sinema — who left the Democratic Party to become an independent in 2022 — Tuesday announced she would not seek reelection, citing how she feels her middle-ground approach to politics isn't "what America wants right now."
Sinema caucused with Democrats after switching her affiliation, helping pass much of Pres. Joe Biden's agenda and supporting his judicial nominees. But she also stood against several Democratic policies, including raising taxes on corporations and weakening the filibuster.
The Spin
Republican narrative
Sinema has decided to leave the Senate because the Democratic Party has veered too far left, and even as an independent she would have had a difficult time fundraising and garnering votes in a three-way race. With Gallego carrying Biden's failed policies like an albatross, the door is now wide open for Lake to bring Republican sanity — and possibly a Republican majority — to the Senate.
Democratic narrative
Sinema may claim she's been forced to resign by extremism, but she's actually lost popularity because her brand of bipartisanship creates bad policy. Perhaps her lasting legacy will be paving the way for a rock-solid Democrat in Gallego to take the baton from her and carry it into the Senate to preserve Democrats' majority and fight for progressive policies.
Nerd narrative
There's a 75% chance that the GOP will control the Senate after the 2024 election, according to the Metaculus prediction community.