Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona will not run for reelection in 2024, according to a video message she posted on Twitter, now known as X, on Tuesday.
Sinema was elected to the Senate in 2018 as a Democrat but left the party after the 2022 midterm elections. Alongside Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who is also retiring, she has taken a moderate position in the body and often voted against Democratic priorities, such as exceptions to the filibuster. (RELATED: Joe Manchin Announces He Will Not Seek Reelection In 2024)
“The only political victories that matter these days are symbolic: attacking your opponents on cable news or social media. Compromise is a dirty word,” Sinema lamented in her video message. “I believe in my approach, but it’s not what America wants right now…because I chose civility, understanding, listening, and working together to get stuff done, I will leave the Senate at the end of this year.”
A message for Arizonans from Senator Kyrsten Sinema pic.twitter.com/1XWFSWgGdh
— Kyrsten Sinema (@SenatorSinema) March 5, 2024
Following her departure from the Democratic Party, Sinema would have faced a difficult general election if she ran for a second term. Polls showed her trailing both Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego of Arizona, the leading Democratic candidate to succeed her with the backing of the party leadership, as well as former local news anchor and Republican candidate Kari Lake, the frontrunner in the state’s GOP primary.
While in the Senate, Sinema’s refusal to support exceptions to the Senate’s cloture rule — requiring that at least 60 senators vote to advance measures to final passage, known more commonly as a “filibuster” — attracted significant opposition from Democrats in Arizona and the wider Democratic Party. During the 117th Congress, with both houses being under Democratic control, the party attempted to pass major legislative items such as the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, only to see them fail due to the absence of 60 votes to overcome the filibuster.
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