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Kyrsten Sinema Is Out. Will She Back the Democrat Vying for Her Seat?

She has a tense history with Democratic Senate candidate Rep. Ruben Gallego.

Kyrsten Sinema AP-23351780931987
Her much-anticipated decision ends one of the longest “will she, won’t she” parlor games in Washington. Mark Schiefelbein/AP

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema finally announced Tuesday that she would not seek reelection, spurred by her sense that her style of legislating is “not what America wants right now.”

The race for her seat in Arizona, likely now between Democrat Ruben Gallego and Republican Kari Lake, could become one of the most expensive and ugliest races in the country. Sinema, a Democrat turned independent, gave a hearty middle finger to partisan politics on her way out the door.

“Because I choose civility, understanding, listening, working together to get stuff done, I will leave the Senate at the end of this year,” she said. Not far from her mind, it seems, was the bipartisan monthslong border deal she played a pivotal role in crafting, only to watch it fall apart several weeks ago, after former President Donald Trump signaled his opposition to it.