Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) filed campaign papers with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) for the 2024 election cycle, noting her recent party change to allow her committee to continue fundraising.
But Sinema has yet to make an official announcement about if she will be running for reelection and if it will be in the Democrat party primary as an independent — something that would ultimately cause a significant headache for her old party.
The senator filed her statement of candidacy as an Arizona independent on Thursday and a statement of organization for the 2024 cycle. This step allows Sinema’s campaign committee to continue fundraising before she makes an official statement that she is running.
When Sinema announced she left the Democrat party last week to become an “Arizona independent,” she acknowledged, “A growing number of Arizonans and people like me just don’t feel like we fit neatly into one party’s box or the other.” She also declined to say at the time if she would be running for reelection.
However, even before she announced her party switch, Democrats had already talked about having someone primary her when she is up for reelection in 2024 for not being far-left enough. Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) has even been floated as a potential primary candidate against her.
On Wednesday, Politico explained one option that would keep the Arizona senator’s party switch from causing a contested Democrat primary but could end up making a “nightmare scenario” for the party:
With three candidates on the ballot, a GOP nominee can capitalize on centrist and liberal divisions and win a Senate seat with a plurality vote. Democrats are not eager to intervene at the moment, but at some point they may have to make a call about whether to support Sinema, back whoever wins a primary or sit out the race altogether.
Of the 33 Senate seats up for reelection, 23 are currently held by Democrats or left-leaning independents, and former President Donald Trump won six of the states by double digits in at least one of his presidential elections.
So if she decides to run, the race would present problems for the national party.
With only a slim 51-seat majority, the Democrat Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), the Senate Democrats’ campaign arm, will not only have to try to keep the 51-seat majority but will also potentially have to spend millions of dollars protecting Sinema, a valuable incumbent for the left, in addition to some Democrat senators running in states that have turned redder over the years.
Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss.
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