Kyrsten Sinema Is Playing Chicken With the Democrats
Arizona senator Kyrsten Sinema’s switch from the Democrats to independent isn’t about political principle — it’s a last-ditch attempt to save her reelection prospects against a progressive challenger.
Kyrsten Sinema attends a press conference after the Senate passed the Respect for Marriage Act at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on November 29, 2022. (Elizabeth Frantz for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Arizona senator Kyrsten Sinema’s announcement that she’s leaving the Democratic Party to become an independent is fully consistent with her trajectory throughout her political career.
She first became politically active in the Green Party as a critic of capitalism. She ran for the Arizona legislature on the Green ticket, calling herself a “Prada socialist” and finishing last in a five-candidate field. Switching to the Democratic Party, she won a seat in the state legislature in 2004, and then was elected to the US House in 2012 and to the US Senate in 2018. She’s now decided that she’s an independent. But the reality of her move is that it’s a boost to Republicans.
Sinema, who remains the first out bisexual person ever elected to the upper chamber, will become the third independent in the Senate. The two others — senators Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine — are both very popular in their states and caucus with the Democrats. In contrast, Sinema is extremely unpopular among Arizona voters and hasn’t said whether she’ll caucus with the Democrats or Republicans.
This article is for subscribers only. Please login or subscribe to access our full archives and beautiful print and digital magazine starting at just $3 a month.