Kyrsten Sinema recently filed her official re-election paperwork after announcing she was changing her party affiliation from Democrat to Independent. But is a party change enough to save her campaign for re-election? It sure doesn’t look like it!
Why no one trusts Sinema
Kyrsten Sinema has become infamous across the country for her stonewalling of Democrats in the Senate. She and Joe Manchin have repeatedly blocked legislation in Congress, including everything from a $15 minimum wage to necessary filibuster reform. Sinema’s actions alienated her from her own (now former) party and frustrated her constituents who had believed they would be getting a more progressive candidate.
As someone from Arizona, I can attest to the public perception of Krysten Sinema being largely negative. Even before she was elected to Senate, a large number of young Democrats were concerned that she was all talk and no substance, something she has consistently proven correct. But since then, it feels like she’s done almost everything in her power to alienate herself from the base that elected her.
Sinema’s party change
This backlash likely contributed to Sinema’s move to change parties. In her op-ed with The Arizona Republic, she announced her party change and talked about “never bend[ing] to party pressure” and how “if the loudest, most extreme voices continue to drive each party toward the fringes – and if party leaders stay more focused on energizing their bases than delivering for all Americans – these kinds of lasting legislative successes will become rarer.”
She defended the decision to turn Independent as being indicative of the times, with a growing number of Americans (including Arizonians) identifying as Independents rather than as Democrats or Republicans. Of course, in doing so, she reveals her more likely reasons for the change: If she can’t get Republicans to vote for a Democrat or Democrats to vote for her as a ‘DINO’ (Democrat In Name Only), maybe she can win their votes as an Independent.
The (very early) polls
Unfortunately for her, the earliest polls are in and it seems her hopes are misplaced. Public Policy Polling released a new poll that shows Sinema barely registering with voters—especially when placed against a Democratic candidate like Ruben Gallego, who is a former Marine, current representative, and husband of Phoenix Mayor, Kate Gallego.
This isn’t the first poll to show such results; a previous poll in January indicated that Sinema had lost her Democratic base.
However, that doesn’t mean Sinema’s candidacy would be without effect; the poll notes that “[a]lthough Sinema would not have a serious path to victory as an independent candidate she could have a spoiler effect since she gets 14% from Biden voters but only 9% from Trump voters.” In other words, her race would draw some moderate/centrist Republican votes away from Kari Lake or another Trumpian candidate, but more votes from Gallego or another Democrat.
Not an ideal scenario for those who want to keep Arizona Blue. (It’s me. I’m an Arizonian who wants to keep the state blue.)
Please just go away, Kyrsten.
These abysmal poll numbers seem like they should be enough to sink re-election chances for Sinema (who also, by the way, just had a 37-page staffer guide released by Vanity Fair, painting her as a nightmare to work for). But the fact she’s still trying remains an issue.
The woman’s persistent ineptitude has had far-reaching consequences for the country as a whole and yet she still thinks she deserves to keep her position while not living up to her promises. That is an ego that can likely only be fixed by a solid failure come 2024.
(image: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
