Why Did Five Of Senator Kyrsten Sinema’s Advisers Quit?

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has been censured by her fellow Arizona Democrats after she voted against modifying the filibuster, which ultimately played a decisive role in the defeat of the party’s voting legislation this week.

The Arizona Democratic Party (ADP) formally censured Sen. Sinema on Saturday after a closed-door meeting.

In a statement on behalf of the party, chair Raquel Terán said that while they “take no pleasure” in announcing it, the rebuke is a result of Sinema’s “failure to do whatever it takes to ensure the health of our democracy.”

The party has a public meeting later today, during which time they make take a no-confidence vote in Sinema. If that occurs, the party will likely put its support behind a primary challenger against Sen. Sinema in her 2024 reelection.

The full statement from the party on this censure vote:

“I want to be clear, the Arizona Democratic Party is a diverse coalition with plenty of room for policy disagreements, however on the matter of the filibuster and the urgency to protect voting rights, we have been crystal clear. In the choice between an archaic legislative norm and protecting Arizonans’ right to vote, we choose the latter, and we always will.

On the heels of their sham ‘audit,’ Arizona Republicans are already trying to push restrictive legislation to eliminate our popular and long-standing vote-by-mail system, jail election workers, and put Cyber Ninjas in charge of our elections. But this is not just about Arizona.

Last year, Republicans in 19 states passed 33 different laws that will make it harder for people to vote.

“As a party, our job is to support our Democratic candidates, and we appreciate Senator Sinema’s leadership in passing the American Rescue Plan and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. However, we are also here to advocate for our constituents and the ramifications of failing to pass federal legislation that protects their right to vote are too large and far-reaching.

While we take no pleasure in this announcement, the ADP Executive Board has decided to formally censure Senator Sinema as a result of her failure to do whatever it takes to ensure the health of our democracy.”