Kyrsten Sinema is already facing primary pressure in Arizona


If these Arizona Democrats have their way, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) could be out the door at the end of her first term.
Primary Sinema PAC, a new PAC "backed by a network of deep-pocketed donors," has begun "laying the groundwork" for a primary challenge to Sinema in 2024, reports NBC News. What's more, state activists have concurrently-but-separately launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for a potential re-election challenger, should Sinema "not vote to end the filibuster or [continue] to obstruct [President Biden's] agenda," writes Salon.
The PAC does not have a particular primary candidate in mind; instead "it will fund local groups to pressure Sinema and help build the support and infrastructure for an eventual candidate," per NBC News. The crowdfunding campaign, meanwhile, is aiming for 1,000 pledges totaling $100,000 by Oct. 6, dollar amounts that will be collected only if Sinema does not vote to support President Biden's Build Back Better Act and vote to end or reform the filibuster by the end of 2021.
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Sinema has come under fire for resisting congressional Democrats' sweeping new spending package without effectively communicating what exact changes she'd need to support it. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), a member of the House Progressive Caucus trying to move the reconciliation bill along, told MSNBC there is "no sense" of what Sinema wants.
"There is still time for Senator Sinema to change course," said Luis Avila, a veteran Arizona organizer supporting the Primary Sinema PAC. "But if she does not, there will be consequences for her betrayal of the people who elected her."
Added Karina Ruiz, an organizer of the crowdfunding campaign: "We can't continue to support a candidate that is not going to deliver for the people," per Salon. Read more at NBC News and Salon.
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Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
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