With the 2024 election approaching quickly, everyone is dotting their i’s and crossing their t’s. Everyone, it seems, but Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema, that is.
As you likely know, Sinema was elected to her seat as a Democrat. But in 2022, she decided to drop the Party of Inclusion to become an independent. She, like several others from her side of the aisle, is tired of seeing the Democratic Party trample over the American people and cannot, in good conscience, remain a part of that.
However, doing as put her in a bit of a pickle when it comes to deciding to run for reelection, or at least that is the reason most people are saying is what could be holding her back.
With primaries coming up in a matter of weeks in her home state, the deadline to file for reelection is fast approaching. And she’s yet to do anything on that front.
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema confronts an approaching reelection deadline in Arizona amidst a competitive race, yet she has remained tight-lipped about her plans since switching parties from Democrat to independent in 2022. https://t.co/0D5nfUpR8z pic.twitter.com/WjZEPiT8yv
— The Hill (@thehill) February 13, 2024
First, Sinema needs to file an official statement of interest with the Arizona Secretary of State’s office.
Then, she will need to file at least 42,000 valid Arizona voter signatures by April 1.
So far, she has done neither.
Now, consultant Meghan Cox says it is doable, but only if she begins the next two weeks or so. As Cox stated, she would need to pay staff to gather somewhere between 60,000 and 65,000 signatures just to be safe.
Should Sinema decide to run again, she does have a good amount of cash on hand available, $10 million in campaign cash, to be exact. So paying staff to do what she needs shouldn’t be a problem.
The problem comes from the fact that because she’s not been actively campaigning yet, her challengers, Democratic Representative Ruben Gallego and GOP front-runner Kari Lake, have already beat that amount, the Arizona Republic reported.
There is also the not-so-small matter that running as independent poses. In nearly every poll available, Sinema is given less than ideal chance of winning, despite the fact that 34 percent of state residents are registered independents.
So will she run or not? We’ll just have to wait and see, but she can’t afford to wait much longer.
