Kyrsten Sinema Leaves Democratic Party, Registers as Independent

By Richard Cowan and Doina Chiacu

WASHINGTON (Reuters)—U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona said on Friday she is leaving the Democratic Party and registering as an independent, in an announcement just days after Democrats won a Senate race in Georgia to secure 51 seats in the 100-member chamber.

“Like a lot of Arizonans, I have never fit perfectly in either national party,” Sinema said in an article for the Arizona Republic newspaper.

Sinema intends to maintain her committee assignments from the Democrats, an aide told Reuters on condition of anonymity. The aide would not say whether or not Sinema would continue to caucus with Democrats.

Sinema herself, however, said she would not caucus with the Republican Party, according to an interview published by Politico on Friday. If that holds, Democrats could still maintain greater governing control in the closely divided chamber.

Sinema’s bombshell came as the future of President Joe Biden’s agenda in the second half of his term was already clouded by Republicans who are set to take majority control of the House of Representatives on Jan. 3 as a result of the Nov. 8 midterm elections.

But Sinema’s statements so far indicate that she will continue working in the independent-minded way that she demonstrated over the past two years — collaborating with Democrats and Republicans to enact legislation, while unafraid of throwing roadblocks that frustrate the White House and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schubert.

Aides to Schumer and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell were not immediately available for comment.

With her new status as an independent, Sinema has cemented her role in the Senate as a maverick, much in the way that the late Republican Senator John McCain was. Arizona has a legacy of trail-blazing senators, including Barry Goldwater, who served in the 1950s and 1960s and brought new life to the conservative political movement in the United States, only to suffer a resounding defeat when he ran for president in 1964 against Lyndon Johnson.

Sinema has two years left in her six-year Senate term and would be up for re-election in 2024 if she decides to seek another term. If so, it was unclear whether Democrats would mount a challenge.

Sinema and Democratic Senator Joe Manchin have kept Washington in suspense over the last two years as they have repeatedly withheld their needed votes for legislative initiatives sought by President Joe Biden.

At the same time, they