Kyrsten Sinema

Democrats maintain control of the Senate, despite the Arizona senator's move to sit as an independent.

Sinema told Politico in an interview that she will not caucus with Republicans and that she plans to keep voting as she has since winning election to the Senate ...

U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona is leaving the Democratic Party to become an independent, she said on Friday, just days after Democrats won a Senate ...

With her close ties to the U.S. "She asked me to keep her committee assignments and I agreed," Schumer said in a statement. Sinema herself, however, said she would not caucus with the Republican Party, according to an interview Politico published on Friday. With their strong conservative bent, House Republicans already have put Biden on notice they will seek deep domestic spending cuts and tougher border security steps. Sinema will be up for re-election in 2024, and Democrats are likely to vie for her seat. Register for free to Reuters and know the full story

Ms Sinema has been a swing vote on key issues. Read more at straitstimes.com.

With Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock’s reelection on Tuesday, Democrats secured a 51-seat majority in the Senate. “In one way, Sinema just made our jobs easier by bowing out of a Democratic primary she knew she couldn’t win. Ms Sinema, 46, was first elected to the Senate in 2018 to a term that expires in 2024. She also has been a consistent vote in favour of Mr Biden’s judicial nominees. I just intend to show up to work as an independent,” she said. She doesn’t intend to caucus with the Republicans.

The Arizona senator is registering as an independent, noting that she “never fit perfectly in either national party.”

Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema left the Democratic Party and registered as an independent. Her decision will not affect the Senate's balance of power but ...

And this could make it a whole lot easier for Republicans to win if Sinema runs, a Democrat runs and they split the vote. I mean, Sinema has already told Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer she'll continue to caucus with Democrats for the purpose of organizing the Senate. So there's no real effort to ostracize her for this decision from the party leaders. There's a very real chance she could not win a Democratic primary, so running as an independent could be her best and maybe only shot at securing another term if she's trying to cobble together sort of a centrist coalition. She's also opposed ending the filibuster to make it easier for Democrats to pass legislation in the Senate. CHANG: Like, she started in politics as an activist associated with the Green Party, then registered as a Democrat before she ran for office.

Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is leaving the Democratic Party and registering as a political independent, she told CNN's Jake Tapper in an exclusive TV ...

Sinema says she still plans to caucus with the Democrats, but her announcement has already set off political tremors in her home state.

Arizona Sen. Sen.

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema announced she will no longer be a member of the Democratic Party, raising questions about how independent politicians can really be.

It's very likely her candidacy would pull more from the Democratic nominee and open up a path for a Republican to win with a mere plurality. Sanders, Jacky Rosen of Nevada, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Jon Tester of Montana and Joe Manchin of West Virginia all have voted with the party to a lesser degree, albeit slightly, according to a What's true in politics is that you have to start with a base of support. There's a real danger here for both the party and for Sinema. She voted with the party 93% of the time, which is not even the lowest of other Democrats (or those who caucus with them). "Last month, the voters of Arizona made their voices heard loud and clear – they want leaders who put the people of Arizona first," said Rep. there's been no overlap at all between the least liberal Democrats and the least conservative Republicans in the House. When he visited Arizona in 2003, for example, right as the Iraq war was starting – a war he voted for and defended – he was greeted by anti-war protests. Ever since, the gaps between the least conservative Republicans and least liberal Democrats in both the House and Senate have widened – making it ever less likely that there's any common ground to find." The writing was on the wall for a while with Lieberman and Democrats. Raphael Warnock won his runoff election in Georgia, Democrats still have firm control of the chamber, 50-49. (Democrat Al Franken's victory in Minnesota then gave Democrats a filibuster-proof 60-vote majority that helped pass the Affordable Care Act.)

A win for Democrats in Georgia followed by a defection from the party, as Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema announces that she's now an Independent.

He needs virtually every Republican to vote for him in order to reach the majority of the whole House. The Republican nominee for speaker, Kevin McCarthy, still lacks the votes he needs to win a majority of the whole House. So it looks like it's going to be a nasty start to the new year. And Sinema was already a hard vote for the Democrats to get on many issues, including the filibuster and Biden's spending bills. ELVING: He did a number of things right - a number of things that ought to be lessons for his party. But while he kept his focus on his core supporters, he was also reaching out to the more moderate voters among the Republicans, making it harder for opponents to demonize him. He focused on turnout in his base in the metro areas of the state, especially the megametro around Atlanta. And it's far from clear just who would be able to pick up the pieces. SIMON: Let's get to the Georgia runoff. ELVING: At this point, the Democrats don't think it needs to change that calculation much. So the AARP in Arizona ran a poll this fall showing Sinema was viewed unfavorably by more Democrats than Republicans or independents. Sinema still appears ready to organize with the Democrats.

The recent history of party-switching senators includes stories of moderates feeling abandoned, longtime politicians unwilling to face primary voters or ...

Charlie Crist, a moderate who felt out of place in the GOP, went from being a Republican governor in Florida to Democratic congressman. Sanders’ previous decision to run for president as a Democrat is evidence of how hard it is to be in national politics without a party. Angus King of Maine, a former Democrat, and Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a democratic socialist, as lawmakers who aren’t technically Democrats but give Democrats their majority. McCain tried to fashion himself as a “maverick” who could buck the party system. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who is the last Democrat standing in a state that during his lifetime was full of them. Sinema will be the first independent senator who isn’t from New England in more than a generation. Joe Lieberman, the moderate Democrat and former longtime senator, lost a Democratic primary in Connecticut in 2006, largely over his support for the Iraq war. Specter’s switch from the Republican to the Democratic Party briefly gave Democrats a filibuster-proof majority and allowed them to pass the Affordable Care Act. Specter left the GOP after realizing he wasn’t going to be able to win a primary. She’s simply exerting independence, as she told CNN’s Jake Tapper in announcing her departure from the Democrats. Bob Smith of New Hampshire left the GOP only to Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania across the aisle](https://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/28/specter.party.switch/) in 2009.

Decision to register as an independent deals blow to Joe Biden's party after success in midterm elections.

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is the latest figure to rile up the liberal base, but Democrats will be happy to keep her mostly in the fold.

[formally left the Democratic Party](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/09/kyrsten-sinema-independent/?itid=lk_inline_manual_11). [by winning Tuesday’s runoff](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/06/georgia-senate-runoff-results-walker-warnock/?itid=lk_inline_manual_26). But Connecticut had no sore-loser law, so Lieberman simply [ran as an independent](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2007/01/07/sen-lieberman-goes-his-independent-way-span-classbankheadhe-calls-for-substantial-troop-increase-in-iraqspan/27a2c7e3-6118-4088-a731-f8389c3c7937/?itid=lk_inline_manual_36) in the general election, while many Republicans backed away from their nominee. footprint in Iraq](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2007/01/07/sen-lieberman-goes-his-independent-way-span-classbankheadhe-calls-for-substantial-troop-increase-in-iraqspan/27a2c7e3-6118-4088-a731-f8389c3c7937/?itid=lk_inline_manual_34), just as he had done in his unsuccessful 2004 presidential bid. Chris Murphy (Conn.), had lined up a challenge, and Republicans eventually nominated a billionaire. Lieberman won in the general election by more than 10 percentage points with a coalition of many Republicans, centrists and a few Democrats. Reid, in one of his most prescient moves, figured he could get bigger things done with Lieberman inside the tent, annoying as he might be to some liberals. Lieberman (I-Conn.), the onetime Democratic vice-presidential nominee who had won a tough re [election](https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/?itid=lk_inline_manual_8) in 2006 as an Iraq War-supporting independent and then supported the GOP presidential nominee. That campaign drew liberal protesters, [including from a young, antiwar Arizonan](https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-2003-03-24-0303240270-story.html) named Kyrsten Sinema. [didn’t represent Democratic](https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/lieberman-must-go/) values. Schumer (D-N.Y.) the day before, but at the same time requested to retain the privileges of being a member of his caucus. “Years of counting votes in the Senate had taught me that you never take a vote for granted.”

A win for Democrats in Georgia followed by a defection from the party, as Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema announces that she's now an Independent.

He needs virtually every Republican to vote for him in order to reach the majority of the whole House. The Republican nominee for speaker, Kevin McCarthy, still lacks the votes he needs to win a majority of the whole House. So it looks like it's going to be a nasty start to the new year. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. And Sinema was already a hard vote for the Democrats to get on many issues, including the filibuster and Biden's spending bills. ELVING: He did a number of things right - a number of things that ought to be lessons for his party. He focused on turnout in his base in the metro areas of the state, especially the megametro around Atlanta. But while he kept his focus on his core supporters, he was also reaching out to the more moderate voters among the Republicans, making it harder for opponents to demonize him. And it's far from clear just who would be able to pick up the pieces. SIMON: Let's get to the Georgia runoff. So the AARP in Arizona ran a poll this fall showing Sinema was viewed unfavorably by more Democrats than Republicans or independents. ELVING: At this point, the Democrats don't think it needs to change that calculation much.

A win for Democrats in Georgia followed by a defection from the party, as Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema announces that she's now an Independent.

He needs virtually every Republican to vote for him in order to reach the majority of the whole House. The Republican nominee for speaker, Kevin McCarthy, still lacks the votes he needs to win a majority of the whole House. So it looks like it's going to be a nasty start to the new year. And Sinema was already a hard vote for the Democrats to get on many issues, including the filibuster and Biden's spending bills. ELVING: He did a number of things right - a number of things that ought to be lessons for his party. But while he kept his focus on his core supporters, he was also reaching out to the more moderate voters among the Republicans, making it harder for opponents to demonize him. He focused on turnout in his base in the metro areas of the state, especially the megametro around Atlanta. And it's far from clear just who would be able to pick up the pieces. SIMON: Let's get to the Georgia runoff. ELVING: At this point, the Democrats don't think it needs to change that calculation much. So the AARP in Arizona ran a poll this fall showing Sinema was viewed unfavorably by more Democrats than Republicans or independents. Sinema still appears ready to organize with the Democrats.