Kyrsten Sinema Won’t Seek Reelection in Arizona

WASHINGTON — Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., said Tuesday that she will not seek reelection this year, clearing the way for a likely matchup between Republican and Trump acolyte Kari Lake and Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego.

“The only political victories that matter these days are symbolic — attacking your opponents on cable news or social media. Compromise is a dirty word,” Sinema said in a three-minute video posted to X, the social media platform.

“I believe in my approach, but it’s not what America wants right now,” she said. “Because I choose civility, understanding, listening, working together to get stuff done, I will leave the Senate at the end of this year.”

Elected to the Senate as a Democrat in 2018, Sinema soon became a centrist swing vote and played a high-profile role in some of the Biden administration’s signal accomplishments like the bipartisan infrastructure law and the Inflation Reduction Act.

But she also frustrated members of her party as well, blocking efforts to raise taxes on corporations and, in a move that became a last straw of sorts, joining Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., to end a push to weaken the filibuster.

At the time, President Joe Biden and other Democratic leaders were calling on the Senate to change the filibuster rules in order to pass a pair of voting rights bills they said would make it easier for Americans to vote and reverse Republican-led states’ efforts to limit access to the ballot.

In siding with Senate Republicans on the filibuster vote, Sinema doomed the voting rights legislation that even many of her top donors warned her was “life or death important.”

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., hailed Sinema’s decision to defend the filibuster on Tuesday, saying, ” the institution of the Senate is only as strong as the people willing to defend it.”

“History will remember that with the Senate’s defining feature under grave threat, Senator Kyrsten Sinema’s wisdom and devotion to this body rivaled that of her most seasoned colleagues,” McConnell said.

“In five short years, the senior Senator for Arizona has done the work of a storied Senate career,” he continued. “Her investments in trust and genuine relationships with her colleagues unlocked massive opportunities for the people of her state and the entire nation. And her studious willingness to dive into the details and do the heavy lifting of legislation has turned many such opportunities into historic outcomes.

“Our friend from the Grand Canyon State will leave the Senate after one of the most extraordinarily effective first terms in recent memory. Her colleagues, and the people of Arizona, are fortunate that this term is not yet finished,” McConnell said.

Shortly afterward, Sinema found herself censured by the Arizona Democratic Party, and in December 2022, she announced she was leaving the party to become an independent.

Given that history, many believed Sinema faced long odds if she entered the Senate race this year.

Immediately after her announcement, Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said in a statement, “an open seat in Arizona creates a unique opportunity for Republicans to build a lasting Senate majority this November.” 

“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 said.

Dan can be reached at [email protected] and @DanMcCue