Arizona Independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema declared on Tuesday that she will not be seeking reelection in 2024. The announcement was made through a video on her social media account.
In the video, Sinema stated, “I believe in my approach, but it’s not what America wants right now. I love Arizona, and I am incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished together. I will be leaving the Senate at the end of this year.”
As a result, the race is now a tight competition between Democratic Representative Ruben Gallego and Republican candidate Kari Lake.
A message for Arizonans from Senator Kyrsten Sinema pic.twitter.com/1XWFSWgGdh
— Kyrsten Sinema (@SenatorSinema) March 5, 2024
In 2022, Sinema changed her party affiliation from Democrat to Independent, as Arizona has shifted away from being a strongly conservative state in recent years. This transition left her politically isolated.
Considering that Arizona’s primary is on March 19 and Sinema had not yet declared a reelection campaign, her announcement was not entirely unexpected.