by Mary Lou Masters
Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona argued her “path to victory” to reclaim her Senate seat in 2024 would be to garner more support from Republicans than Democrats and win the majority of independent voters, according to a donor memo reported by NBC News on Monday.
Sinema has yet to launch a reelection bid, but could face Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego and former Republican gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake, who is inching toward a campaign, in a general election next year. The senator’s memo argues that if she runs for another term, Sinema could secure the seat with 60 percent to 70 percent support from independents, as well as 25 percent to 35 percent of Republicans and 10 percent to 20 percent of Democrats, according to NBC News.
“Kyrsten Sinema has proven she knows how to win in Arizona. As an Independent she appeals to voters who refuse to identify with either political party or dislike candidates nominated in partisan primaries who cater to the political fringes,” the memo reads. “If the parties nominate extremists, as expected, Kyrsten will win a majority of IND, at least a third of REP and a percentage of DEM voters — making her the first Independent to win a three-way statewide race in American history.”
Another section of the two-paged memo details what it views as legislative victories, including Sinema voting for President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to “[lower] drug prices.” Along with the IRA, the memo touts Sinema’s role in gun reform, same-sex marriage legislation, postal reform and other items under the title “Kyrsten Delivers for Arizona.”
Sinema’s pitch is that both parties will nominate “extremists” for Senate in Arizona, and that she will win as an independent by attracting 10-20% of Democrats, 60-70% of independents and 25-35% of Republicans.
From the memo @NBCNews obtained:https://t.co/aNTt0dc9Ho pic.twitter.com/IURxZsZoIE
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) September 25, 2023
Despite the memo, Sinema, who left the Democratic Party in December 2022, hasn’t made a decision about her political ambitions for 2024, but has “been actively fundraising,” a spokesperson for the senator told NBC News. Sinema’s political campaign has more than $10 million cash on hand, according to the spokesperson.
A Noble Predictive Insights survey released on Aug. 3 indicated that both Sinema and Lake would lose to Gallego in a potential three-way matchup; Gallego led with 34 percent support, followed by Sinema at 26 percent and Lake at 25 percent. Another survey released in early August suggested Sinema would come in third behind Gallego and Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, a Republican running for the seat, with the candidates garnering 36 percent, 29 percent and 21 percent support, respectively, according to the Emerson College poll.
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Mary Lou Masters is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “Senator Kyrsten Sinema” by Sen Kyrsten Sinema.
Sinema is about as “independent” as Nancy Pelosi. She needs to be dumped.