{"id":1981078,"date":"2023-07-24T06:17:01","date_gmt":"2023-07-24T10:17:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kyrsten-sinema-takes-800000-through-democratic-platform-actblue-after-fleeing-party\/"},"modified":"2023-07-24T06:19:04","modified_gmt":"2023-07-24T10:19:04","slug":"kyrsten-sinema-takes-800000-through-democratic-platform-actblue-after-fleeing-party","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kyrsten-sinema-takes-800000-through-democratic-platform-actblue-after-fleeing-party\/","title":{"rendered":"Kyrsten Sinema flees party, receives $800K via ActBlue."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fkyrsten-sinema-takes-800000-through-democratic-platform-actblue-after-fleeing-party%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1981078&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Sen.\u200c Kyrsten \u200dSinema Raises Impressive \u200cDonations Despite Party Departure<\/h2>\n<p>Sen. Kyrsten Sinema \u200d(I-AZ) has managed\u2062 to secure approximately $816,000 in donations through \u2064the Democratic fundraising software giant ActBlue \u2063during the \u2063second quarter of 2023, even after\u200c becoming an independent late\u2064 last year, according to records.<\/p>\n<p>Despite leaving the\u2063 party in December 2022, Sinema continues to benefit from\u2064 ActBlue&#8217;s influence. Between April and June,\u2063 the platform served as a\u200c conduit for donors, \u2064contributing $270,000 to her \u2064campaign and $545,000 to Sinema&#8217;s joint fundraising \u200bcommittee, as revealed in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dem-cheri-bustos-diverts-post-office-aid-cash-to-own-campaign\/\" title=\"Dem Cheri Bustos Diverts Post Office Aid Cash to Own Campaign\">campaign finance disclosures<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>Top \u2063Democrats Clash with Sinema<\/h3>\n<p>Top Democrats have clashed with Sinema \u200cfollowing her departure from the party, expressing \u2064frustration with\u200d Washington&#8217;s focus on &#8220;party doctrine.&#8221; Sacha\u2064 Haworth, senior adviser to Replace Sinema, a PAC \u2064supporting Rep. Ruben Gallego\u2064 (D-AZ) in his Senate bid, criticized Sinema, stating, &#8220;When Sinema left \u200cthe Democratic Party, \u200dshe knowingly forfeited \u200cthe support\u2064 it has lent her over\u2064 her \u2062political career. Sinema is no longer a Democrat. She should\u200c not be allowed to use the platform.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Sinema, who has\u2062 not yet announced her run in 2024, disclosed receiving $1.6 million in the second\u2063 quarter, ending with $10.7 million in cash on hand. Meanwhile, Gallego received \u2062$3.1 million during the same period, and Mark Lamb, the Pinal County sheriff \u2062running for Senate as a Republican, pocketed about $607,000, according to disclosures. Kari Lake, a\u2064 failed 2022\u200b Republican gubernatorial candidate, is\u2063 also considering a Senate \u200bbid.<\/p>\n<p>This quarter marks another \u200cinstance \u200cwhere Gallego \u2063has outperformed Sinema \u2063in fundraising. In the first quarter, Sinema received $2.1 million compared to Gallego&#8217;s $3.7 \u200cmillion. Gallego\u2062 finished the second \u200bquarter with $3.7 million cash on hand. Sinema&#8217;s Getting Stuff Done PAC also \u200breceived money through ActBlue between\u2063 April and June.<\/p>\n<h3>Sinema&#8217;s Reliance on ActBlue<\/h3>\n<p>Sinema&#8217;s \u2063<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kyrsten-sinema-takes-800000-through-democratic-platform-actblue-after-fleeing-party\/\" title=\"Kyrsten Sinema flees party, receives 0K via ActBlue.\">campaign website began directing donors<\/a>\u200d to her \u200dfundraising page through Anedot,\u2062 a\u2063 payment processor used by \u2064independents\u2064 and Republicans, in late March. She \u200balso continues to\u2064 accept contributions through Democracy Engine, whose CEO Jonathan\u200b Zucker previously headed ActBlue. According to disclosures, Sinema&#8217;s \u200ccampaign and the\u2063 Sinema \u200dLeadership Fund paid merchant fees totaling $39,100 to \u200cActBlue, \u2064$10,300 to Democracy Engine, and $2,800 to\u200d Anedot.<\/p>\n<p>Sinema&#8217;s reliance on ActBlue seems\u200b to contradict her efforts \u2063to distance herself from the Democratic Party. While ActBlue claims that\u200d only Democrats and progressive organizations can use\u200b their tools for fundraising, the \u200ccompany&#8217;s\u200b policies allow third-party \u2063incumbents or independents with a proven record of \u200ccaucusing with Democrats to fundraise through the platform.<\/p>\n<h3>Tension with Ex-Democratic\u200b Colleagues<\/h3>\n<p>Tension between Sinema \u200cand her former\u200c Democratic\u200c colleagues\u2063 has intensified as the\u200d 2024 election approaches. \u2063Former \u2063House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was listed as a special \u2062guest \u200dat a Gallego fundraiser \u2063held \u2062virtually in late June,\u200b according \u200cto \u2062an event invitation. Sinema reportedly expressed her disinterest in attending weekly caucus meetings on Capitol Hill, stating that Democratic &#8220;lunches \u200cwere ridiculous&#8221; \u2064during a conversation with Republican\u2062 lobbyists.<\/p>\n<p>An employee at Anedot clarified that the platform \u2063allows people from all political backgrounds, including lawmakers&#8217; campaigns, \u200bto \u200duse their services alongside ActBlue.<\/p>\n<h3>ActBlue and Non-Democratic Candidates<\/h3>\n<p>Sinema is\u2064 not the only non-Democrat \u2063who has utilized ActBlue to their advantage.\u2063 Independent\u200c Sens. Angus King of Maine and Bernie \u200dSanders of Vermont have also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pete-buttigieg-regularly-consults-with-dark-money-funded-green-groups\/\" title=\"Pete Buttigieg Regularly Consults With Dark Money-Funded Green Groups\">received significant donations<\/a> through the software\u200d since\u200c 2012.<\/p>\n<p>However, \u2062ActBlue has previously enforced policies that \u2063prevent candidates from using\u2063 their \u200cplatform if they\u200b are running against a Democratic nominee in\u200c a partisan race. The platform reportedly enforced this rule in\u200d 2021 by removing Buffalo, New\u2064 York, Mayor Byron W. Brown, a Democrat turned independent, \u2064from their platform.<\/p>\n<p>Republican Arizona state \u200dRep. Quang Nguyen acknowledged \u200bSinema&#8217;s advantage as an independent, stating that she has\u200b a base on both\u2063 sides.\u2062 He expressed that he would\u200c also &#8220;take advantage&#8221; of ActBlue for fundraising if he were in \u2062Sinema&#8217;s position.<\/p>\n<h3>Sinema&#8217;s Fundraising Ties<\/h3>\n<p>Sinema&#8217;s ties to \u2064Democratic fundraising extend\u200c beyond ActBlue. She has consistently \u200bpaid the Washington, D.C., political firm Fulkerson Kennedy &#038;\u2062 Co. for &#8220;fundraising\u200c consulting,&#8221; according to disclosures. The firm\u200d has worked with various \u2064Democrats, and its\u200d top vendors in 2022 \u2064included\u200b Senate Majority PAC, \u200cSen. Maggie Hassan&#8217;s (D-NH) campaign,\u200d and Sinema&#8217;s leadership PAC, which received \u2062almost $497,000\u200b in funding.\u2064 Fulkerson Kennedy is led by Ashley Kennedy and Tonya Fulkerson, both with extensive experience in \u2064Democratic campaigns.<\/p>\n<p>During the first quarter, Sinema received\u2063 approximately $1.3 \u2064million through ActBlue, leading \u200cto criticism from Roy Herrera, a lawyer for the Gallego campaign, who called \u200dit &#8220;either hypocritical or ironic.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Sinema, Gallego&#8217;s\u2062 campaign, and ActBlue did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) raised $816,000 via ActBlue in Q2 2023, despite leaving the Democratic Party in late 2022. Top Democrats have criticized Sinema for prioritizing party over Washington&#8217;s concerns.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1981079,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1981078","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1981078","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1981078"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1981078\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1981079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1981078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1981078"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1981078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}