In an expected move, Arizona Democratic State Senator Kyrsten Sinema announced she will see the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Congress in Arizona's newly created Congressional District 9.
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Arizona was awarded another congressional district due to the population growth recorded in the 2010 census. Despite having a reputation of being a "deep Red" state, Arizona's voter registration is fairly evenly split with 35.5% Republican, 33.5% Independent/minor party, and 30.8% Democrat. Arizona's Independent Redistricting Commission new maps created 4 strongly Republican districts, 2 minority-majority districts which are strongly Democratic, and 3 swing districts. The new CD09, east Phoenix & burbs, will be Arizona's first Independent majority congressional district, with 33.5% Rep, 31.3% Dem and 35.1% Ind. In all competitive districts the path to victory will be in carrying a majority of Independent voters, but no where is that more true than in CD09.
Sinema is Arizona's own equivalent of a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. She was born to conservative Mormon parents in Tucson in 1976, she will be 36 this July. After attending public schools in Tucson at age 16 she won a scholarship to Brigham Young University, graduating with a degree in social studies. She then went on to earn both a master's degree in social work and then a J.D. at Arizona State University, she is a practicing criminal defense lawyer. She first ran for the state legislature in 2002 as an Independent but lost by a wide margin to the Democratic candidates in the heavily Democratic district. In 2004 she ran as a Democrat and won the most votes in the top 2 vote getters move forward Primary, and was elected to office in November, and reelected in 2006 & 2008. In 2010 she was elected to the State Senate.
Sinema was a supporter of Barack Obama in the 2008 campaign and was an Obama delegate to the National Convention. In 2009 she authored the book: "Unite And Conquer: How To Build Coalitions That Win And Last", which describes her vision for how to achieve success in politics despite being a left leaning member of a minority party in a conservative state. In 2010 she was selected as one of Time magazine's "40 under 40" as one of "the rising stars of American politics". Sinema is openly bisexual, and is listed an LGBT Out Official at the Gay & Lesbian Leadership Institute. She is one of four openly gay state Senators and Legislators in Arizona. Coincidentally, they are all Democrats.
So, she sounds like quite the Progressive for Arizona, right? Actually Sinema seem to be one of those rare talented individuals who manages to alienate both those on the Right and on the Left. Some of the more quotable things Arizona conservatives have said about her include: Sinema is considered to be one of the most "far leftist" members of the legislature, particularly vehement in her advocacy of illegal immigration, and Kyrsten Sinema is a far left, first term State Senator from Arizona, and alleges she has connections to theCommunist Party USA because she signed a May Day and Cinco de Mayo greeting.
OK, it doesn't take much left of center to get Arizona conservatives up in arms, but Sinema is a frequent target of criticism from Progressives and Latino activists for her support of SB1225 and support for some of the Republican legislation, such as being the only Democrat to vote for the half trillion dollar tax cut to corporations.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I think she could be a very strong candidate in this new district. I consider myself a Progressive, but I am also a pragmatist. While I prefer the most progressive candidate I am also firmly in the "better to have someone who votes with us 70%+ of time time than someone who votes against us 100% of the time" camp.
At any rate, it should be an interesting race for Arizona's newest and most interesting congressional district.