Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) has decided not to run for re-election in 2024.
In a video announcement posted to X on Tuesday afternoon, Sinema defended her record of centrist dealmaking but acknowledged she had no viable path to a second term.
“I believe in my approach, but it’s not what America wants right now,” Sinema said. “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's long awaited decision finally brings into focus the Arizona Senate race, which will be one of the most competitive of the 2024 cycle. Instead of a volatile and messy three-person race, Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and GOP candidate Kari Lake will battle to win the seat in November.
Speculation has swirled for years over how Sinema would approach the 2024 election. In the first year of Joe Biden's presidency, her standing within the Democratic Party cratered over her resistance to aspects of their agenda.
Sinema was seen as guaranteed to lose a Democratic primary election. But she circumvented that risk by announcing in December 2022 that she would formally leave the Democratic Party.
From that point until Tuesday, the senator said virtually nothing about her plans, making colleagues in both parties sweat over what she might do.
Both parties may be relieved at Sinema's decision: public opinion polls had routinely shown that Sinema had no shot of actually winning a race against Gallego and Lake, but attracted enough support to be a spoiler for potentially either of them.
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema Announces She Won’t Run for Re-Election
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05.03.2024
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) has decided not to run for re-election in 2024.
In a video announcement posted to X on Tuesday afternoon, Sinema defended her record of centrist dealmaking but acknowledged she had no viable path to a second term.
“I believe in my approach, but it’s not what America wants right now,” Sinema said. “Because I choose civility, understanding,........
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