Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona announced Friday that she has registered as an independent.
She says she does not plan to caucus with Republicans.
Sinema has frustrated Democratic colleagues at times with her overtures to Republicans and opposition to Democratic priorities, said she was
declaring my independence from the broken partisan system in Washington.”
In a video she said,
Registering as an independent and showing up to work with the title of independent is a reflection of who I’ve always been. … Nothing’s going to change for me.
..to be independent and work with anyone to achieve lasting results. I committed I would not demonize people I disagreed with, engage in name-calling, or get distracted by political drama. I promised I would never bend to party pressure.”
Sinema also said that she has
never fit perfectly in either national party.”
Sinema identifies as bisexual, being independent in that respect as well.
Last January, leaders of the Arizona Democratic Party voted to censure Sinema, citing “her failure to do whatever it takes to ensure the health of our democracy″ — namely her refusal to go along with fellow Democrats to alter the Senate rule so they could overcome Republican opposition to a voting rights bill.
Before Sinema’s announcement, Democrats were set to hold a 51-49 edge in the Senate come January after the victory Tuesday by Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock in Georgia’s runoff election.
The Senate is now split 50-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris the tiebreaking vote for Democrats.
In a natural extension of my service since I was first elected to Congress, I have joined the growing numbers of Arizonans who reject party politics by declaring my independence from the broken partisan system in Washington and formally registering as an Arizona Independent. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/jUQHAeuxym
— Kyrsten Sinema (@kyrstensinema) December 9, 2022
Kyrsten Sinema has switched to Independent, diminishing the senate’s Democratic majority. Says Kyrsten, “Technically, my party designation is now Irritating Attention-Sucking Moron Who Everybody Hates”
— Paul Rudnick (@PaulRudnickNY) December 9, 2022
(Photo, YouTube; via AP)
