U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema leaves the Democratic Party, declares ‘independence from broken system’

By Ailan Evans

Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema announced Friday that she was leaving the Democratic Party and registering as an independent.

“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,” she wrote on Twitter Friday.

Sinema has long be considered one of the more centrist members of Congress, drawing ire from the Democratic Party for refusing to back changes to the filibuster and, along with West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, preventing key legislation from being passed in the 50-50 Senate. She argued that an increasingly polarizing political environment had made substantial policy progress difficult, and that registering as an independent was the best way to represent her constituents.

“In catering to the fringes, neither party has demonstrated much tolerance for diversity of thought,” she wrote in an Arizona Republic op-ed Friday further elaborating on her decision. “Bipartisan compromise is seen as a rarely acceptable last resort, rather than the best way to achieve lasting progress. Payback against the opposition party has replaced thoughtful legislating.”

The Arizona senator did not say whether she will formally caucus with the Democrats like fellow independents Angus King of Maine and Bernie Sanders of Vermont, according to CNN. However, Sinema has generally voted with Democrats, and is up for reelection in 2024.

“Most Arizonans believe this is a false choice, and when I ran for the U.S. House and the Senate, I promised Arizonans something different,” she wrote. “I pledged 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.”

Sinema first announced the decision in an interview with CNN late Thursday.

“I’ve registered as an Arizona independent. I know some people might be a little bit surprised by this, but actually, I think it makes a lot of sense,” Sinema said.

Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities for this original content, email licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Image courtesy of Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons

11 thoughts on “U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema leaves the Democratic Party, declares ‘independence from broken system’

  1. The Dems sent their rabid dogs after Sinema (harrassed and followed into a restroom) Manchin’s State of West Virginia has far more GOP representation in the State House there. The playing field as of 2023 is not so sweet with Nancy gone and others jumping off the DNC Titanic. The old guard is now on defense bigly. The pRegressives are dining at the children’s table – they have no numbers to make a dent in a GOP controlled House. Even the RINOs are swallowing hard knowing they too are outnumbered by the increasingly angry, fed up constituant base. So, the glass is half full and the People are making progress by keeping up the pressure and holding the line. The swamp is getting very turbulent and unpredictible….just as it should be and just as the Framers intended it to be.

  2. She still caucuses with the Commiecrats and that doesn’t change the makeup of the Senate. She is doing this for her own political advantage, nothing more.

    “A leopard can’t change its spots and a skunk can’t change its smell”. – D. B. Wilmer

  3. So what, if she caucuses with the Commiecrats it doesn’t change the makeup of the Senate. If she really took the red pill, she would switch parties. It would be nice if her or Manchin switched but I’m just dreaming.

  4. A consummate ‘nothing burger’. Sinema is simply positioning herself to avoid the upcoming AZ democrat primary.

    Speaking of catering to fringes, now she sits with Bernie Sanders… you know, Vermont’s other moderate senator. Tsk, tsk.

    ‘A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.’

    • Maybe so, but she deserves credit for bucking her party bosses from changing the filibuster rule and she held up Biden’s trillion dollar save America BS bill. She also stated in her speech that as a democrat she was expected to demonize her opponents in the other party. While she might turn out as a nothing burger she already proved that she has more courage than 90% of the others who just rubber stamp what the boss says. I’m hoping she really disappoints the democrats more in the future.

  5. …waiting for Sen. Manchin to go one step better and pull a Jeffords and actually switch party affiliation.

    • Don’t hold your breath.

      “In politics nothing happens by accident. If it happens you can bet it was planned that way”. – Franklin D. Roosevelt

Comments are closed.