Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema will not run for re-election in Arizona probably helps the Dems a bit, but they still have troubles there.
While I'm sure she has a lucrative gig lined up at some lobbying or private equity firm, she completely flubbed one of the easiest jobs in the world she could have held well into old age, mostly to temporarily advantage some already extremely rich people. Coulda gone out like Feinstein (wheeled out in an adult diaper to the adulation of your fellow senior citizens).
Ruben Gallego will the D candidate. He is popular in the state and polls well. The R will have a primary between Kari Lake and Mark Lamb. Both are going to try and out-Trump each other, and are very far right wing candidates. Lake is the favorite, but regardless who wins, they are going have a difficult time pulling in moderates. Arizona also has a large LDS population and they tend to not be fans of Trump, or anyone who is full-on Trumper. Likely why Lake lost the Gubernatorial election.
Most polls have Gallegos leading with both Sinema and Lake both in the race. Gallegos vs. Lake direct and it's close, but with about 10% undecided. These are likely right leaning moderates that don't want to vote for a D, but don't like voting for a Trumper. Sinema gave them a third option that is I. I can't imagine Lake winning too many of these voters over. There is still also a question if an abortion issue will be on the ballot in Nov. If there is one in Arizona, it will likely drive more Ds to the polls.
Nah she had a goal and she accomplished it. Was a friend to billionaires and hedge fund types. She wasn’t too interested in being a senator but rather building connections in business and enriching herself. She’s done that admirably and has set herself up very very nicely for the future. Plus she was looking at third place. This will be a huge boon for the DemoncRAT. A likable smart ex Marine, and Hispanic American. Lake will get blown out this time. McCain’s message to her will haunt her dreams. “No peace bitch”.
She has zero chance. She burned her bridges badly enough by constantly trashing the McCain family that she’s completely turned off a lot of the voter base in AZ. In fact, her antics are why Arizona is a blue state currently, so I guess we should thank her for being the way she is. She tried to mend things with Meghan McCain the other day knowing she needed to get those voters back and she told her to F off basically.
Interesting comments from Sinema about leaving Senate: How Kyrsten Sinema — who once said she could 'do anything' if she lost reelection — can get rich now that she's retiring from the Senate (msn.com) "I don't care. I can go on any board I want to. I can be a college president. I can do anything," Sinema purportedly told Romney. "I saved the Senate filibuster by myself. I saved the Senate by myself. That's good enough for me." ++ "If McKay Coppins's biography of Sen. Mitt Romney is to be believed, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona hasn't been worried about staying in the Senate for quite some time. According that book, Sinema told the Utah Republican that she didn't care about winning reelection, a prospect that had long been imperiled by breaking with her party on government spending and the Senate's "filibuster" rule." ++ "The Arizona senator made little mention of her post-Senate plans in a video announcing her decision, merely saying that she's retiring because she's choosing "civility, understanding, listening, working together to get stuff done."
