Tag: Sen. Kyrsten Sinema

Sheriff Mark Lamb’s Pledge: Putting Arizona First in the Race for Senate

Christy Kelly
Mark Lamb

Sheriff Mark Lamb, dubbed the “American Sheriff,” to a short break recently from his campaign for U.S. Senate to grant an exclusive interview to The Arizona Sun Times to discuss his vision, legislative objectives, and strategies for transitioning from law enforcement to federal governance. Lamb and former gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake are the key contenders in the 2024 Republican primary, aiming to succeed Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), who will not seek re-election.

Lamb began by expressing his gratitude for the support and encouragement he has experienced on the campaign trail. “When people see that you are protecting their families, they, in turn, become protective of you.”

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Arizona Poll Finds Trump Leads Biden, Gallego Has Slight Lead over Lake

Tom Pappert
Donald Trump, Ruben Gallego, Joe Biden, Kari Lake

Former President Donald Trump currently has the support of just under half of Arizona voters and boasts a slight lead over President Joe Biden, according to a poll released Wednesday.

The Emerson College poll found 48 percent of registered voters in Arizona support Trump’s bid to return to the White House, while 44 percent want to see Biden elected to a second term.

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Key Democrats Endorse Gallego After Sinema Retirement

The Center Square
Rep. Ruben Gallego

U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., now has the backing on Gov. Katie Hobbs and U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly in his bid for U.S. Senate.

The endorsements come after Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema announced last week she’s retiring at the end of the year and not seeking re-election. If she decided to run, it would have set up an unusual three-way race between two major parties and an incumbent. Sinema left the Democratic Party in December 2022.

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Gallego Submits Signatures for Arizona Democratic Primary Ballot

The Center Square
Ruben Gallego

Arizona Democratic Senate candidate Ruben Gallego submitted his petition to get on the Democratic primary ballot on Monday morning.

Gallego, who’s a congressman representing Arizona’s 3rd Congressional District, touted that his campaign did not use paid canvassers, and only “grassroots” efforts to get 14,186 signatures, which is more than double the 6,556 minimum.

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Lake Holds 33-Point Lead in Arizona GOP Senate Primary, Statistically Tied with Gallego Among All Voters If Race Includes Sinema

Tom Pappert
Kari Lake Senate Candidate

Kari Lake holds a commanding, 33-point lead in the race to secure the Arizona Republican Party (AZGOP) nomination to run for U.S. Senate, according to a poll released Wednesday.

Pollsters additionally found Lake statistically tied with Representative Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-03), who is poised to secure the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, when Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) was included in the survey.

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Arizona U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego Offers Tepid Support for Schumer-Sinema Border Bill Called ‘Slap in the Face’ by Kari Lake

Tom Pappert
Rep. Ruben Gallego

U.S. Representative Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-03) appeared to offer his tepid support for the bipartisan border bill that Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) helped craft and unveiled Sunday. His support is contrasted by Republican U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake, who may face a three-way race with Gallego and Sinema in November, called the legislation a “slap in the face.”

Shortly after the announcement of the border bill, created in a joint effort that included Senators Sinema, Chuck Schumer (D-NY) James Lankford (R-OK) and Chris Murphy (D-CT), Gallego wrote in a post to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that the bill should be taken seriously.

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Kari Lake Campaign Declares Sen. Sinema Has ‘No Path to Victory’ as Schumer-Sinema Border Bill Unveiled

Tom Pappert

The U.S. Senate campaign for Kari Lake told The Arizona Sun Times that Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) “has no path to victory” just before the former Democrat unveiled her Senate bill to address the border crisis with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).

Sinema, who has still not declared whether she will seek reelection this November, unveiled a $118 billion border bill alongside Senators Schumer, James Lankford (R-OK), and Chris Murphy (D-CT).

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Anti-Sinema PAC Releases Ad Bashing Senator One Day After Kari Lake Ad Calls Gallego, Sinema Biden’s ‘Enablers’

Tom Pappert
Replace Sinema PAC

A political action committee that endorses Representative Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-03) released a new advertisement targeting Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) on Tuesday, with its release timed one day after Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake released her own commercial labeling Gallego and Sinema as “enablers” of President Joe Biden.

“When Republicans take back the U.S. Senate, we will fix the problems caused by [Biden] and his enablers [Sinema] and [Gallego],” wrote Lake in a Monday post to X, formerly Twitter, containing her campaign’s new ad.

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Democratic Poll Shows Kari Lake Beating Rep. Ruben Gallego, Sinema Losing by Nearly 20 Points

Tom Pappert
Lake Gallego

Polling released on Wednesday by a polling firm heavily associated with the Democratic Party showed Kari Lake beating Representative Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-03) in the race to replace Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), who was 19 points behind her likely Republican challenger.

The Public Policy Polling survey released Wednesday showed Lake has the support of 36 of Arizona voters, edging out Gallego, who has the support of 35 percent. Sinema was 18 points behind Gallego and 19 points behind Sinema, receiving the support of just 17 percent of support, according to the pollsters.

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Senators Sinema, Kelly Praise Border Patrol Overtime Pay Increase

The Center Square

Some Border Patrol agents will now get increased overtime pay thanks to an amendment pushed by Arizona Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, as well as Republicans and Democrats.

The increase put into the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act applies to GS-12 agents who will get 50 percent more of their “hourly rate of basic pay or extra ‘half-time’ pay for any hour(s) worked between 81-100 per pay period.” The boost is in addition to their normal hourly rate, the National Border Patrol Council explained in a statement. 

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Sen. Tom Cotton Endorses Kari Lake, ‘The Fighter Arizona Needs’

Tom Pappert

Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) endorsed Kari Lake to represent Arizona in the U.S. Senate on Monday, stating the former newswoman and gubernatorial candidate “will stand up to the Biden agenda and put Arizonans first” if elected.

Lake wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that she was grateful for Cotton’s endorsement, calling him “a conservative warrior in the Senate.” Lake wrote that she looks “forward to working with Senator Cotton to secure the border” in a future Republican Senate majority.

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NRSC Launches Arizona Ad Campaign, Labels Rep. Gallego, Sen. Sinema ‘Deadbeat Dad’ and ‘Liberal Democrat’

Tom Pappert

The influential National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) released a new advertisement targeting Arizona voters on Monday that labels Representative Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-03) a “deadbeat dad” and Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) a “liberal Democrat.” The ad is the latest indication the political action committee will support Lake, should she secure the Republican nomination.

In a 30-second ad, the narrator bemoaned “Rotten Ruben Gallego” for being “a spokesman for a crooked bank that targeting immigrants,” referencing a March report exposing a bank he founded that was meant to cater to illegal immigrants. Federal regulators eventually determined the bank’s founder illegally sold shares.

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$33 Million in Federal Funding to Support Tucson Area Water Resources

The Center Square

Funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will be used to for water cleaning resources by developing a new treatment center in Tucson. 

Specifically, the facility would focus on PFAS chemicals, which the United States Environmental Protection Agency describes as “widely used” and “long-lasting,” but could also have negative health consequences when they make their way into water and other consumables. Out of $10 billion targeted toward getting chemicals out of water in the act, $33,520,000 is Tucson bound, according to a news release. 

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Schumer Called Sinema ‘Extremely Helpful’ Before Vote to Thwart Tuberville’s Pentagon Abortion Protest

Tom Pappert
Senator Chuck Schumer

Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) received high praise from Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) prior to the successful vote of a bill she championed that is aimed at thwarting the effort of Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL). Tuberville is stalling promotions of high ranking military officials until the Pentagon ends its new policy of funding abortion travel for its employees.

Sinema successfully passed legislation last week that will allow the U.S. Senate to vote to confirm the promotions of more than 300 high ranking military officials at once, which she said is necessary because the Senate would otherwise struggle to handle the volume once Tuberville’s protest ends or is bypassed.

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Poll Shows Kari Lake Has 26-Point Lead Among Arizona Republicans

Tom Pappert

Polling released on Thursday by an Arizona pollster showed former gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake with a commanding 26-point lead in the race for the Arizona Republican Party (AZGOP) nomination for U.S. Senate.

Conducted between October 25 and October 31, the Noble Predictive Insights (NPI) poll showed Lake has the support of 40 percent of Arizona’s Republican primary voters. Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb (R) placed in second place with 14 percent of support.

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Poll Reportedly Shows Sen. Sinema Losing Re-Election Despite ‘Pulling Votes from Lake’ in 3-Way Contest

Tom Pappert

A new survey reportedly conducted last month was revealed Monday, and suggests Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) is polling in third place against Representative Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-03) and former gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, despite apparently pulling a significant number of Republican voters.

The poll was commissioned by the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) and obtained by Puck News. The poll allegedly shows Gallego in first place with the support of 41 percent of Arizona voters and Lake in second place with 37 percent. Sinema finished in a distant third place, with the support of just 17 percent of Arizonans.

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Kari Lake Files to Run for US Senate in Arizona Ahead of October 10 Announcement

Tom Pappert

Former Arizona news anchor and gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake filed Federal Election Commission (FEC) paperwork to run for U.S. Senate to represent Arizona in 2024 on October 3, with the filing coming only days after she announced a “Kari Lake Announcement Rally” in Phoenix on October 10.

Lake will be the second major Republican to declare their candidacy for the office, and will enter the race as an early favorite, with polling from August suggesting Lake will handily win the primary contest.

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Kyrsten Sinema Lays Out Unorthodox ‘Path to Victory’ in Swing-State Arizona

Admin

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.

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Commentary: Will a Three-Way Race in Arizona Deliver the U.S. Senate to Republicans?

Admin

Of all the low-hanging senatorial fruit in 2024 — see red states with blue senators in West Virginia, Montana, and Ohio, to name three — if not the ripest for conservative pickup, then at least the juiciest might be the three-way contest that is liable to heat up in the Arizona desert.

There, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, Democrat-turned-independent incumbent, if she decides to defend her seat, will face an extreme progressive challenger on the left and, possibly, one of the Trumpiest of Trumpists on the right, Kari Lake, who may find herself in a primary battle with a slightly lesser Trumpist in Blake Masters, who lost the other Senate seat in 2022 to Mark Kelly.

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Arizona Rep. Ruben Gallego Raises $3.1 Million in Race for Sinema’s Senate Seat

Tom Pappert

Representative Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-03) claims to have raised $3.1 million from mostly small-dollar donors funding his campaign for U.S. Senate, where he hopes to overcome Republican opposition and ultimately unseat Senator Kyrsten Sinema (AZ-I).

Gallego’s campaign sent campaign finance data to 12 News on Thursday, revealing a $3.1 million fundraising haul in the second quarter of 2023. Though less than the $3.7 million Gallego raised in the first quarter, immediately after announcing his campaign, the latest reporting means his campaign has raised nearly $7 million this year.

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GOP Targets Three Vulnerable Democrats in Quest to Win Senate, House Control Too Early to Predict

Just the News

Republicans would need to win three of the 2024 toss-up Senate races to retake control of the chamber but appear to be facing a more uphill battle to keep control of the House.

Thirty-three of 100 Senate seats are up for grabs next year. Right now, Democrats have a 51-49 majority, which includes 48 party members and three independents who caucus with them.

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Experts Weigh In on Potential Three-Way Senate Race in Arizona

Admin

Arizona’s 2024 U.S. Senate election is expected to be highly contentious and competitive as the campaign will likely feature a three-way race in the general election, experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who has yet to announce a reelection bid, currently holds the seat in question; Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego has already launched a Senate run and former Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake is weighing a bid. Arizona political strategists told the DCNF that there are various factors and scenarios at play that make this potential race highly contentious, and likely a tossup.

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Arizona’s Lamb Talks Immigration, Fentanyl and Sinema on Campaign Trail for U.S. Senate

The Center Square

Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb hopes his law enforcement acumen in a border state will make him stand out in a potentially crowded race for the GOP ticket in Arizona’s next U.S. Senate primary.

Lamb has been on the campaign trail as the first Republican Senate candidate in Arizona to declare candidacy for the 2024 election. He spoke with The Center Square on Friday to discuss the border and state of the race.

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Sinema Leans on California to Join Colorado River Water Pact

The Center Square

As six states wait for California to join its Colorado River Basin water use agreement, Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema called on the state to be willing to seal the deal.

In a letter to the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation on Tuesday, Arizona, Nevada, Wyoming, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado all agreed to work toward finding the best way to distribute the water source, which is facing drought conditions, but California was the missing signature.

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Kari Lake Responds to Rumor She Is Considering Running for U.S. Senate

Rachel Alexander

Kari Lake is appealing the dismissal of her lawsuit contesting the results of a botched election for Arizona governor, which placed her opponent, Democrat Katie Hobbs, in office, but rumors are swirling in the mainstream media that she is moving on and considering running for U.S. Senate.

The rumors began when CNN reporter Kate Sullivan tweeted on Monday, “I’m told Kari Lake is considering running for the US Senate seat held by Kyrsten Sinema in 2024.” Newsweek published an article titled, “Kari Lake Might Have Finally Given up Her Hopes of Becoming Governor.”

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Shock: Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema Leaving Democratic Party, Could Impact Senate Control

ADN America

Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has announced that she will leave the Democratic Party and officially register as an independent and in an Op-Ed in the Arizona Republic.

“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 told CNN’s Jake Tapper during an interview Thursday with in her Senate office.

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Left Rages at Sinema over Filibuster Support

Peter D'Abrosca

The political left is raging at a U.S. Senator from Arizona who refuses to join her fellow Democrats in abolishing the filibuster. 

“I committed to the 60-vote threshold, it’s been an incredibly unpopular view. I actually think we should restore the 60 vote threshold for the areas in which it has been eliminated already,” Sen. Kyrsten Sinema said in a speech at the University of Louisville during a conference called The Future of Political Discourse and the Importance of Bipartisanship.

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Sen. Kyrsten Sinema Backs Reinstating Filibuster for Judicial, Executive Nominees

Just the News
Krysten Sinema

Democratic Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema backed the restoration of the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster threshold for all judicial and executive nominees.

Speaking at the University of Louisville’s McConnell Center on Monday, Sinema advocated for the reinstatement of the threshold which then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid removed for non-Supreme Court nominees in 2013. Mitch McConnell, while Senate majority leader himself, removed it for Supreme Court nominees in 2017.

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Arizona Sens. Sinema, Kelly Pivotal Two Votes Preventing Confirmation of ‘Radical Left-Wing’ Gigi Sohn to FCC

Rachel Alexander

Gigi Sohn has been nominated by President Joe Biden to serve on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), but not a single Republican in the Senate has said they will vote to approve her confirmation. If every Senate Democrat votes to confirm her, plus Vice President Kamala Harris as a tie-breaking vote, Sohn will be confirmed, but insiders say two pivotal Democratic senators have indicated they will vote no, Arizona’s Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly.

In an op-ed for The Register-Herald, former West Virginia legislator Mike Oliverio said Sohn has “radical left-wing viewpoints.” He cited her “record calling Fox News state-sponsored propaganda and questioning whether Sinclair Broadcasting should have their broadcast licenses revoked.”

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Arizona, Others Sue Biden Admin for Rescinding Title 42

Peter D'Abrosca

Arizona is leading the charge in suing the President Joe Biden’s administration over its plan to rescind Title 42, one of the few remaining protections that allows for the deportation of illegal aliens.

“This suit challenges an imminent, man-made, self-inflicted calamity: the abrupt elimination of the only safety valve preventing this Administration’s disastrous border policies from devolving into an unmitigated chaos and catastrophe. Specifically, this action challenges the Biden Administration’s revocation of Title 42 border control measures, which will, absent judicial relief, become effective May 23, 2022,” says a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Mark Brnovich (R) and his counterparts in Missouri and Louisiana. 

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Far-Left Group Launches Campaign to Remove Arizona Sen. Sinema from Office

Peter D'Abrosca
Krysten Sinema

A far-left group that supports open borders has launched an all-out attack on moderate Democrat Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. 

“Voto Latino is investing six figures to hold Senator Sinema accountable during the 2024 primary for her obstruction of critical voting reforms, minimum wage increases, pandemic relief for undocumented Latinos, and other reforms that would protect and uplift millions of Latinos,” that organization said on a website called Adios Sinema.

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MSNBC Guest: Arizona U.S. Sen. Sinema White Person ‘Martin Luther King Jr. Warned Us About

Peter D'Abrosca

An MSNBC guest viciously attacked Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) over her renewed commitment to keeping the Senate filibuster in place, which progressive Democrats say is holding up their agenda. 

“Look, people like Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, these are the white people Martin Luther King Jr. warned us about,” commentator Elie Mystal said on Sunday’s episode of “American Voices.”

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Democrats Threaten Ousting Filibuster, but Moderates Hold the Line

The Center Square

U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., is once again right in the middle of a heated Congressional debate as Democratic leadership threatens to overthrow the long-established filibuster rule to push through voting legislation that would give the federal government broad powers over state elections.

“If Republicans continue to block our efforts, the Senate will debate and consider changes to Senate rules on or before January 17, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, to protect the foundation of our democracy: Free and fair elections,” Democratic Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer said.

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Commentary: Pramila Jayapal, the Loser of the Year

Admin

For three months, as the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Rep. Pramila Jayapal was firm in her threat: “We will agree to the bipartisan [infrastructure] bill if, and only if, we also pass the reconciliation bill first.” She was the driving force and the public face behind progressives’ mission to use the infrastructure bill as a cudgel to force Sen. Joe Manchin, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, and other centrist Democrats into passing Build Back Better. She repeatedly appeared on “The Rachel Maddow Show” to give attention to her strongarm tactics.

Time and time again in August, September, and October, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was forced to back down from votes on infrastructure because of Jayapal. When a reporter told Jayapal that some people believed she was “bluffing,” Jayapal, who has nearly 100 members in her caucus, said, “Try us.”

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Key Democrats Reportedly Vow to Vote Against Biden’s ‘Marxist’ Treasury Nominee

Admin

Key Democrat Senators reportedly said they would oppose President Joe Biden’s nominee to head the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Democratic Sens. Jon Tester of Montana, Mark Warner of Virginia, Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, Jon Hickenlooper of Colorado and Mark Kelly of Arizona told the White House they would not support Saule Omarova’s nomination to head the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, according to Axios.

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U.S. Senate Confirms Biden Nominee Gary Restaino as Arizona’s U.S. Attorney

Cooper Moran

The U.S. Senate on Friday unanimously confirmed Gary M. Restaino, President Joe Biden’s nominee for U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona.

Restaino has served as a federal prosecutor in the state since 2003 and previously worked for a Phoenix legal aid service, representing migrant and seasonal farmworkers. He also worked as a trial attorney for the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section, according to a release from the White House.

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Activists Confront Kyrsten Sinema in Airport, on Plane over Biden Agenda

Admin

Protesters and activists followed Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema through Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. and onto a plane Monday, pressing her on why she refuses to back parts of the $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill.

“I’m just trying to get an explanation for the American people,” Kunoor Ojha, chief of staff of the Green New Deal Network, asked Sinema as she followed the senator through the airport, video of the encounter shows.

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Progressive Group Stalks, Harasses Sinema Around Phoenix

Peter D'Abrosca
LUCHA Arizona protesting outside during the day about the filibuster

A progressive group spent its weekend haranguing Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) over what they see as the moderate Democrat Senator’s unwillingness to further the progressive cause. 

Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA), which describes itself as a group “led by community members fighting for social, racial & economic transformation,” protested Sinema at several different locations in Arizona over the weekend.

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Progressive Group Continues to Beat Up Arizona Sen. Sinema, This Time over Infrastructure Bill

Peter D'Abrosca

Progress Arizona, which played a role in electing Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) to the U.S. Senate, is once again attacking the moderate Democrat, who won’t budget on her party’s proposed $3.5 trillion infrastructure bill. 

“This is our moment to deliver on all of the promises that we made,” Emily Kirkland, executive director of the nonprofit, reportedly said. “She is just absolutely standing in the way of that, without making clear what she wants.”

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Democrats Fume over Sinema’s Refusal to End Filibuster

Peter D'Abrosca
Kyrsten Sinema

Democrats are reacting to an opinion piece by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), published in The Washington Post, wherein she defended her stance against ending the filibuster. 

“Filibuster supporters be like: we should let Republicans destroy democracy now because at some indeterminate time in the future they may try again,” said Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-NY-17), taking a subtle dig at Sinema. 

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Kyrsten Sinema Reaffirms That She Will Not Support Abolishing the Filibuster

Admin

Arizona Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema reaffirmed her opposition to abolishing the 60-vote Senate filibuster, rebuffing progressives who have decried the legislative rule and called for its removal.

Sinema argued that scrapping the Senate rule would erode “democracy’s guardrails,” writing in The Washington Post that doing so would lead the nation to “lose much more than we gain.”

“It’s no secret that I oppose eliminating the Senate’s 60-vote threshold,” Sinema wrote. “I held the same view during three terms in the U.S. House, and said the same after I was elected to the Senate in 2018.”

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