Arizona Democrats Censure Sen. Kyrsten Sinema For Filibuster Vote

The Arizona Democrats officially censured Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Arizona) after she refused to change her stance on the filibuster.

In last week’s vote, Sinema and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) broke with their party to vote down changing the longstanding filibuster rule to be able to pass voting rights bills.

The Arizona Democratic Party made the decision to officially censure Sinema on Saturday, saying their move was “a result of her failure to do whatever it takes to ensure the health of our democracy.”

“During three terms in the U.S. House, and now in the Senate, Kyrsten has always promised Arizonans she would be an independent voice for the state – not for either political party,” a Sinema spokesperson said in a statement. “She’s delivered for Arizonans and has always been honest about where she stands.”

Sinema and Manchin have a lot of power as the most moderate Senators, but their recent votes have brought a strong backlash from progressives. Manchin is in a unique sotuation, with Trump carrying West Virginia by nearly 39 points in 2020. Sinema, however, represents a state which voted blue in 2020 for the first time since 1996 and a Democratic Party that wants to build on that victory.

While Sinema supports the voting rights acts, she said she could not back the one-time change to the filibuster rule to get rid of the 60 vote threshold in favor of a simple majority vote.

“When one party need only negotiate with itself, policy will inextricably be pushed from the middle towards the extremes,” Sinema said explaining her stance.

Sinema was once lauded for bringing the Arizona Senate seat back to the Democrats after being red for a generation. She is up for re-election in 2024 and could face a primary challenge.