The Arizona Democratic Party approved a resolution on Saturday urging the U.S. Senate to eliminate the legislative filibuster, and it singled out the state’s own Democratic senators to support the proposal.
Citing Republican obstruction on policies at the state and national levels, the resolution calls for an immediate rules change so that Senate Democrats can pass legislation on voting, immigration, climate change, and other priorities without having to attract supermajorities.
“Arizona’s Republican state legislators are pursuing an aggressive agenda of voter suppression legislation that, if successful, will require federal legislation like the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to ensure that all eligible Arizona voters can exercise our right to vote without undue barriers,” the resolution reads.
KYRSTEN SINEMA WEARS ‘F— OFF’ RING, RESISTS PRESSURE TO KILL FILIBUSTER
The resolution also urges Arizona’s Democratic Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly to “support the comprehensive passage of President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda and the Arizona Democratic Party platform by publicly declaring their support for ending the Senate filibuster.”
Democratic Party officials argue legislators such as Sinema and Kelly need to abolish the filibuster in order to achieve meaningful policy reform.
“Time and time again, Republicans have shown our country that they will refuse to allow a vote on vital legislation Arizonans and families need,” Steven Slugoki, the former leader of the Maricopa County Democratic Party and a member of the AZ Coalition to End the Filibuster, said in a news release obtained by the Washington Examiner. “That is why as a diverse coalition of Democratic State Committee members, caucuses and legislative districts across Arizona, we have come together to officially make our party’s stance to end the filibuster clear.”
Sinema, who has served the historically Republican-leaning state since 2019, has been forceful in her opposition to the campaign to abolish the filibuster, and she even expressed support for expanding the 60-vote threshold.
Kelly dodged the question of where he stands on the filibuster back in April.
“Well, when we get to the point where we’re going to have, you know, a serious discussion about this, I’ll make a decision based on what’s in the best interest of Arizona and the country,” Kelly said.
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Most Democrats have signaled support for ending or modifying the procedure, with even previous supporters, such as President Joe Biden, backing filibuster reform. Others, including Sinema and West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, reject calls to end the filibuster, saying it protects the minority party.
In the evenly divided U.S. Senate, three-fifths of senators need to vote to invoke cloture to end a filibuster on a legislative proposal, meaning at least 10 Republicans would need to join all 50 Democrats to stop a filibuster attempt.
