Arizona Democrats Outraged Kyrsten Sinema Dumped Party Ahead of 2024 Election

Arizona Democrats became outraged Friday that Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) announced leaving the Democrat party to become an independent.

Sinema’s blockbuster decision has 2024 Senate implications. The decision means she could elect to run on the independent ticket instead of as a Democrat in the Democrat primary. If she did run for reelection as an independent, Sinema could give Republicans an opportunity to retake the Arizona Senate seat and reclaim the Senate.

“I am not surprised. But I’m still shockingly disappointed at how awful she continues to be,” Michael Slugocki, outgoing vice chair of the Arizona Democrat Party, told NBC News. “It does shake up this [2024] race,” he said. “She’s deliberately trying to make it difficult for Democrats in Arizona.”

“There is every intention that the Arizona Democratic Party will run a true Democrat in 2024,” he threatened Sinema, noting he favors Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) as a challenger.

Gallego, who is weighing if he will challenge Sinema in 2024, also slammed Sinema for leaving the radical Democrat party and pushed himself as a viable alternative.

“We need Senators who will put Arizonans ahead of big drug companies and Wall Street bankers. Whether in the Marine Corps or in Congress, I have never backed down from fighting for Arizonans,” he said, according to NBC News. “Unfortunately, Senator Sinema is once again putting her own interests ahead of getting things done for Arizonans.”

With Gallego threatening a potential 2024 Senate campaign, a former aide to Sinema anonymously accused her of switching parties to “save her ass” in the 2024 reelection cycle, NBC News reported.

“She’s trying to eliminate a primary she knew she’d lose,” the former aide said. “Trying to save her ass.”

If Sinema does decide to run on the Democrat ticket, campaigning as a Democrat could become more difficult after dumping Democrats. Authentic, a leading Democrat digital firm, announced Friday it was removing Sinema from its client list.

“Authentic has represented Sinema for years,” Politico reported. “But the firm saw an internal revolt over its work for the senator earlier this year as she voted against several of the Biden administration’s initiatives and refused to support revamping filibuster rules to move legislation on voting rights.”

On Thursday, Sinema told CNN’s Jake Tapper that her decision “makes a lot of sense” because she never fit into the Democrat party’s “box.”

“I know some people might be a little bit surprised by this, but actually, I think it makes a lot of sense,” Sinema said. “I’ve never fit neatly into any party box. I’ve never really tried. I don’t want to.”

Sinema’s decision to leave the party was not opposed by Democrat Senate leadership. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) permitted Sinema to maintain her committee assignments while leaving the party.

“Senator Sinema informed me of her decision to change her affiliation to Independent,” Schumer stated in a press release. “She asked me to keep her committee assignments and I agreed. Kyrsten is independent; that’s how she’s always been.”

Schumer’s flexibility with Sinema could be the result of her voting record. She has voted with President Joe Biden 93 percent of the time, according to FiveThirtyEight.

But Sinema has not always agreed with the Democrat establishment. In November, she voted to terminate the national cornonavirus emergency declared on March 13, 2020.

In March, she voted to disapprove of the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) requirement of masks on planes, trains, and buses. She also voted in January to keep the Senate filibuster in place, which greatly irked Democrats.

Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.