Kyrsten Sinema Says She Left Democratic Party over ‘Deeply Broken Two-Party System’

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) said on Tuesday that she ultimately left the Democratic Party over the “partisanship” in the “deeply broken two-party system.”

When asked about leaving the Democratic Party during a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum on Tuesday, she expressed that she has always been independent in the increasingly divided political world.

“As folks know, I have declared, formally declared my independence from what I consider to be a deeply broken two-party system,” she said about leaving the old party last month. “Those who know me know that I was always an independent voice and always have been for the things that I believe in and for my state and for my country.”

“What you’ve heard about partisanship, I believe, is accurate,” Sinema explained.

One example Sinema gave, another reason that prompted her to leave the Democratic Party, was their response to the January 6 Capitol Riot. Referring to the string of bills that the Democrats wanted to pass in the Senate that required the filibuster to be eliminated, she stated:

In the resulting two years, the Democratic Party shared a narrative that said, ‘We would not have any more free and fair elections in this country if the United States Congress didn’t eliminate the filibuster and pass a massive voting rights package.’ As we all know, the filibuster was not eliminated. … That massive voting rights bill was not passed through Congress. And then we had a free and fair election all across the country [in 2022].”

And as has been noted, the outcome of that election was different than many people expected. Most election deniers lost across the country, and individuals of both political parties, some extreme, some moderate, won. So we had a free and fair election. One could posit that the push by one political party to eliminate an important guardrail in an institution of our country may have been premature or overreaching in order to get the short-term victories they wanted.

During the same forum, Sinema and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) also shared a moment, giving each other a high-five and reaffirming their support for keeping the filibuster in place.

“We still don’t agree on getting rid of the filibuster, correct?” Manchin asked Sinema. “That’s correct,” she said before sharing a high-five:

As Breitbart News reported last week, Manchin and Sinema departed on their trip to the World Economic Forum to be a part of the United States’ delegation. However, the two lawmakers left before making any official announcement on whether or not they would be running for reelection in this cycle, leaving many people in question.

In the next election, the Senate Democrats will have to try to keep, if not expand, their 51-seat majority. That would involve potentially spending millions on protecting Sinema, who has already been fielding potential primary challengers after recently changing her party to independent. In addition to open seats from some retiring members, some Democrat senators will be running in states that have turned redder over the years — such as Manchin.

Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss.