Senator Sinema Faces Challenges in Bid for Reelection

According to Axios, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, an Independent from Arizona who left the Democratic Party two years ago, may face challenges if she decides to run for reelection.

She has not yet announced her intentions, but time is running out if she wants to be on the November ballot.

If she does run, it would create a rare three-candidate competitive contest that could influence which party controls the U.S. Senate.

One obstacle she faces is the need to file about 42,000 valid signatures from Arizona voters by April 1, which is six times the amount required for candidates running with a party. However, she must first file a “statement of interest” with the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office, something she has not yet done.

Local consultant Meghan Cox estimates that Sinema would need between 60,000 and 65,000 signatures to ensure enough are valid, which would require starting the campaign in the next two weeks.

Despite having more than $10 million, which is $4 million more than her closest potential competitor, Democratic U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego, her fundraising has significantly decreased since leaving the Democratic Party. She reported her worst quarter of the cycle, with less than $600,000, compared to Gallego’s $3.3 million and GOP candidate Kari Lake’s $2.1 million.

Even if Sinema obtains the required number of signatures, she will still be without a true base, as independent voters in Arizona have varying opinions on all issues and candidates.

Brian Freeman ✉

Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.