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.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
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.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
6 homes with fall foliagefeature An autumnal orange Craftsman, a renovated Greek Revival church and an estate with an orchard
-
Musk wins $1 trillion Tesla pay packageSpeed Read The package would expand his stake in the company to 25%
-
Political cartoons for November 7Cartoons Friday’s political cartoons include a party at Mar-a-Lago, a handy chart for ICE, the Republican train wreck and Nancy Pelosi's retirement
-
Has Zohran Mamdani shown the Democrats how to win again?Today’s Big Question New York City mayoral election touted as victory for left-wing populists but moderate centrist wins elsewhere present more complex path for Democratic Party
-
Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
-
Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch
-
Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
