While far-leftists in the Democrat party rage at Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) for blocking their socialist agenda, the politician is gaining ground with Republicans, according to a poll released by OH Predictive Insights.
Arizona Senator Mark Kelly (D) is also gaining support from the other side of the aisle, though not as much as Sinema.
“As Arizona turns into a battleground state, the state’s two Democratic senators are learning to appeal to Republican voters,” said Mike Noble, OHPI Chief of Research.
Sinema is viewed favorably by 37 percent of Republicans, which is “astonishing number considering the attacks against her in the 2018 campaign for Senator,” according to the poll. In contrast, 40 percent of Democrats have an unfavorable view of her, and she is underwater five points with women.
The senator has long been a rock in the shoe of the “progressive” wing of her party. Democrats lead the Senate with an extremely slim majority, meaning Sinema’s vote can be the difference between life and death of leftist dreams. Just Wednesday, Sinema announced she would not support the Democrats’ $3.5 trillion budget bill after Senate Republicans and Democrats secured a deal for her bipartisan infrastructure bill. In the recent past, she enraged her colleagues by blocking $15 minimum wage and refusing to end the filibuster.
Since Democrats largely fear the House and Senate could be lost to the GOP in 2022, they are attempting to ram through their leftist agenda before it is too late. Sinema has repeatedly been a hinderance to this objective and has become the target of inner party attacks.
“Sinema’s controversial positions on the $15 minimum wage and ending the Senate’s filibuster have cost her support among Democrats. Slightly more than half of liberal or moderate Democrats view Sinema favorably,” according to the poll.
As for Sen. Kelly, nearly one-quarter of Republicans have a favorable view of him, though 67 percent are still not convinced. Kelly has maintained his image with fellow Democrats more than Sinema. His favorability with liberal and moderate Democrats exceeds 80 percent.
Both Sinema and Kelly enjoy near identical favorability ratings among independent voters of 46 percent and 47 percent, respectively.
“As each draws closer to a reelection campaign, Sinema and Kelly must walk the fine line of supporting a Democratic agenda in the Senate while keeping Republican and Independent voters from jumping ship,” Noble said.
The survey of 863 registered voters in Arizona was completed by OH Predictive Insights from July 6-July 11, 2021 and has a 3.3 percent margin of error.