Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s decision on Friday to leave the Democratic Party and register as an independent is perhaps the only thing close to a sour note this season for congressional Democrats.
The party is closing out 2022 riding a high after a much-anticipated red wave failed to materialize for Republicans during the midterm elections. The good feelings continued with leadership elections that were largely, though not entirely, devoid of drama as Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and her deputies cleared the way for the next generation of House leadership and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) leadership slate was unanimously elected in the Senate.
Although Democrats lost the House by a slim margin on Nov. 8, the Republican Party is beset with infighting as Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) struggles to convince a group of hard-line conservatives to back his bid for speaker. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) endured the first challenge of his entire tenure leading Senate Republicans.
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“I think on our side of the aisle, it’s all wine and roses right now,” incoming Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said at a press conference Tuesday. “It’s puppies and rainbows because we’re coming off of historic overperformance in terms of the House of Representatives, when my colleagues on the other side of the aisle were measuring the drapes, predicting that we were going to lose 40, 50, 60 seats.”
Senate Democrats also took a victory lap after Sen. Raphael Warnock’s (D-GA) win in Georgia’s Senate runoff election Tuesday gave the party an outright majority in the upper chamber. The party defended all of its seats while also flipping a GOP-held seat in Pennsylvania, with Sen.-elect John Fetterman (D-PA) replacing retiring Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA).
“They say all good things come to those who wait. And this outcome is absolutely worth the wait. After one year, 10 months, and 17 days of the longest 50-50 Senate in history, we have 51, a slim majority,” Schumer, almost giddy, said at a press conference Wednesday.
That victory lap was interrupted Friday when Sinema announced her decision to switch parties. In an op-ed for the Arizona Republic, she blasted both Republicans and Democrats for their “rigid partisanship” and a culture that allows “the loudest, most extreme voices to determine their respective parties’ priorities,” all while “expecting the rest of us to fall in line.”
Sinema is one of two centrists, along with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), who hold considerable sway over the Democratic Party, with their votes needed to pass progressive priorities in the evenly divided Senate. The pair were singularly responsible for President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better legislation tanking in the upper chamber, though both later signed on to a sweeping but pared-back version of the bill, the Inflation Reduction Act.
Progressives view Sinema as an obstacle to their agenda and responded to the news by sniping at her. Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), who’s mulling a run against Sinema in 2024, accused her of “once again putting her own interests ahead of getting things done for Arizonans,” while Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) said she only cares about prioritizing corporate interests.
Though her news has implications for 2024, should Sinema run for reelection — by running as an independent, she would avoid a primary challenge from Gallego — Democratic strategist Brad Bannon doesn’t expect the party switch will affect how Congress functions.
“She was in grave danger of losing a Democratic primary in 2024, and now, she doesn’t have to worry about that, running as an independent,” Bannon told the Washington Examiner. “So, I think it definitely changes the political equation more than the policy equation.”
Schumer appeared eager to stay on good terms with Sinema, as her vote is crucial to Democrats maintaining their 51-seat majority next year. He indicated she would continue to caucus with the Democrats in the same way the two other independents, Sens. Bernie Sanders (VT) and Angus King (ME), do, thus keeping the balance of power in the Senate intact.
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Schumer called her a “good and effective senator” and agreed to allow her to keep her committee assignments. Though she bucks the Democrats on occasion, she is expected to continue voting with them by and large.
“My guess is that she will support the administration most of the time,” Bannon said. “I think she’s going to find now that she’s an independent, she’ll find a high-profile way to stop some Biden administration economic initiatives in the Senate. But I don’t think it’s going to change the equation a lot. It would have been a more serious problem if Democrats hadn’t picked up a seat.”
