Kyrsten Sinema May Be On Her Way Out As Arizona Democrats Censure Her

Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 02:17 pm

The Arizona Democratic Party has censured Sen. Kyrsten Sinema for refusing to vote to change the filibuster to pass voting rights.

The Arizona Republic reported, “Members of the Arizona Democratic Party executive committee passed Saturday a resolution to censure Sen. Kyrsten Sinema over her vote to keep the filibuster.  The closed-door vote Saturday morning came after an avalanche of anger from liberals who characterize Sinema, D-Ariz., as an obstructionist who helped doom Democrats’ chances at passing voting-rights legislation.”

Arizona Democratic Party Chair Raquel Teran released a statement after the vote:

To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.

Sinema probably views the censure as a political win because it is her dream to stay in power forever by being the next John McCain, but a more realistic view of the situation is that Sinema is probably on her way out of the Democratic Party.

Sen. Bernie Sanders vowed to back primary challengers for Sens. Sinema and Manchin after their refusal to change the filibuster rules to pass voting rights. 

Progressives in Arizona already have a challenger in mind for Sinema, and that challenger, Rep. Reuben Gallego, has not ruled out running against her.

It has long been suspected that Sinema’s goal is to go Independent, and the censure looks like a signal that a break up between Sinema and Democrats is coming.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association