Kyrsten Sinema
Kyrsten Lea Sinema (/ˈkɪərstən ˈsɪnəmə/ KEER-stən SIN-ə-mə; born July 12, 1976)[1] is an American politician and former social worker serving as the senior United States senator from Arizona, a seat she has held since 2019. A former member of the Democratic Party, Sinema became an independent in December 2022.[2][3][4][5][6]
"Sinema" redirects here. For other uses, see Sinema (disambiguation).
Kyrsten Sinema
Constituency established
July 12, 1976
Tucson, Arizona, U.S.
Independent (2022–present)
- Democratic (2004–2022)[a]
- Green (1994–2004)
Sinema served three terms as a state representative for the 15th legislative district from 2005 to 2011, one term as the state senator for the 15th legislative district from 2011 to 2012, and three terms as the United States representative for the 9th district from 2013 to 2019. She began her political career in the Arizona Green Party and rose to prominence for her progressive advocacy, supporting causes such as LGBT rights and opposing the war on terror. She left the Green Party to join the Arizona Democratic Party in 2004 and was elected to a seat in the United States House of Representatives in 2012. After her election, she joined the New Democrat Coalition, the Blue Dog Coalition and the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, amassing one of the most conservative voting records in the Democratic caucus.[7] Sinema won the 2018 Senate election to replace the retiring Jeff Flake, defeating Republican nominee Martha McSally. She is the first bisexual and the second openly LGBT woman (after Tammy Baldwin) to be elected to Congress, in the House of Representatives in 2012 and in the Senate in 2018.[8] She is also the first woman elected to the Senate from Arizona[9] and the only religiously unaffiliated member of the US Senate.[10]
Sinema was considered a key swing vote in the Senate,[11][12][13][14] which was split 50–50 between Democrats and Republicans in the 117th U.S. Congress. She is one of three independents in the Senate, the others being Bernie Sanders and Angus King, both of whom also caucus with the Democrats. Sinema has announced she will not seek reelection in 2024.[15]
Sinema is considered a controversial figure. Supporters have praised her strong emphasis on bipartisanship and negotiating with Republicans during a time of heightened political and social tension in the country.[16] Conversely, critics accuse her of collaborating with wealthy members of the ruling class to her constituents' detriment.[17] She attracted much negative attention from American progressives, particularly after her performative "thumbs down" gesture when voting against a minimum wage increase, though it was later confirmed this gesture was intended for her staffers and not as commentary on her vote.[18]
Early life and education[edit]
Sinema was born in Tucson, Arizona, on July 12, 1976,[19] to Marilyn (Wiley) and Dan Sinema.[20][21] Sinema has an older brother and younger sister.[22][23] Her father was an attorney. Her parents divorced when she was a child, and her mother, who had custody of the children, remarried. With her siblings, mother, and stepfather, Sinema moved to DeFuniak Springs, Florida, a small town in the Panhandle.[23]
Sinema has said that when her stepfather lost his job and the bank foreclosed on their home, the family lived for three years in an abandoned gas station[24] and that for two years they had no toilet or electricity while living there.[25] She later recalled: "My stepdad built a bunkbed for me and my sister. We separated our bunkbed from the kitchen with one of those big chalkboards on rollers. I knew that was weird. A chalkboard shouldn't be a wall. A kitchen should have running water."[25]
According to journalist Jonathan Martin in The New York Times, Sinema has given "contradictory answers about her early life", and her mother and stepfather have filed court documents saying they had made monthly payments for gas, electricity, and phone bills, even though Sinema had said they had been "without running water or electricity".[26] Asked whether she had embellished details from her childhood, Sinema said, "I've shared what I remember from my childhood. I know what I lived through."[26]
Sinema was raised as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).[27] She graduated as valedictorian from Walton High School in DeFuniak Springs at age 16 and earned her B.A. from Brigham Young University (BYU) in 1995 at age 18.[28][24] She left the LDS Church after graduating from BYU.[27] Sinema returned to Arizona in 1995.[29]
While employed as a social worker, Sinema completed a Master of Social Work degree at Arizona State University in 1999. In 2004, she earned a J.D. degree from Arizona State University College of Law and started working as a criminal defense lawyer.[24][30] In 2012, she earned a Ph.D. in justice studies from Arizona State[24][31] and in 2018, she completed an online M.B.A. from the W. P. Carey School of Business.[32][33]
Career[edit]
In 2003, Sinema became an adjunct professor teaching master's-level policy and grant-writing classes at Arizona State University School of Social Work and an adjunct business law professor at Arizona Summit Law School, formerly known as Phoenix School of Law.[34] Sinema began her political career in the Arizona Green Party before joining the Arizona Democratic Party in 2004,[35] and called herself a "Prada socialist".[36][37]
In 2000, Sinema worked on Ralph Nader's presidential campaign.[38] In 2001 and 2002, she ran for local elected offices as an independent and lost.[29] In 2002, The Arizona Republic published a letter from Sinema criticizing capitalism. She wrote: "Until the average American realizes that capitalism damages her livelihood while augmenting the livelihoods of the wealthy, the Almighty Dollar will continue to rule."[39] In 2003, she protested Joe Lieberman's unsuccessful 2004 presidential bid, telling the Hartford Courant: "He's a shame to Democrats. I don't even know why he's running. He seems to want to get Republicans voting for him – what kind of strategy is that?"[40][41]
While in the Green Party, Sinema was its local spokesperson, working to repeal the death penalty and organizing antiwar protests.[42] She had organized 15 antiwar rallies by the time the Iraq War began.[29] She also opposed the war in Afghanistan.[29] During a February 15, 2003, protest in Patriots Square Park in Phoenix, a group led by Sinema distributed flyers portraying a U.S. service member as a skeleton "inflicting 'U.S. terror' in Iraq and the Middle East".[29]
In a 2003 opinion piece, Sinema wrote that Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush were "the real Saddam and Osama lovers".[43] When asked on a local radio show whether she would oppose someone joining the Taliban and fighting on its behalf, Sinema responded: "Fine ... I don't care if you want to do that, go ahead."[29]
In a 2011 address to Netroots Nation, Sinema called Arizona the "meth lab of democracy", in contrast to the "laboratories of democracy" in other states.[44]