AOC 'Grateful' Sinema Switches to Independent, Hints Progressive Challenge

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said she's "grateful" for Senator Kyrsten Sinema's decision to leave the Democratic Party and register as an independent—a congressional shakeup the New York Democrat suggested could benefit progressives in the Senate.

On Friday, Sinema, who has repeatedly bucked the Democratic Party, announced she was changing her party affiliation and joining the Senate's two other independents, Senators Bernie Sanders and Angus King—who both caucus with the Democrats.

The Arizona senator shared a video explaining her decision, saying she "always' vowed to be an "independent voice for our state" and that her constituents would say "that's the Kyrsten we elected."

"Not once in this long soliloquy does Sinema offer a single concrete value or policy she believes in," Ocasio-Cortez said in response to the clip. "She lays out no goals for Arizonans, no vision, no commitments. It's 'no healthcare, just vibes' for Senate."

"People deserve more," the progressive congresswoman tweeted. "Grateful this race & nomination has opened up."

Sinema, who was elected to the Senate in 2018, is serving her first term. Since switching parties, the senator has not addressed whether she will run for reelection in 2024.

Independents Sanders and King are both widely viewed as Democrats and national organizations have never devoted resources to defeating those senators. But Sinema's history of blocking Democrats' legislative efforts and friendly relationships with Republicans raises questions as to whether the Democratic National Committee will extend the same courtesy to the moderate senator.

Although Sinema is a strong fundraiser, FiveThirtyEight's Nate Silver pointed out that polling shows she is "not very popular with anyone," leaving the consequences of her Friday announcement up in the air.

"I'm not sure whether today's move increases or decreases her chances of winning another term (I actually suspect decreases) but they were low to begin with and they remain low," Silver tweeted.

Representative Ruben Gallego of Arizona's 7th district, a progressive lawmaker, has been encouraged by several left-wing groups to challenge Sinema for her seat—even before she registered as an independent.

Asked about a potential 2024 Senate run, Gallego told Politico in April, "I care about the Arizona Democratic Party. I have done everything, some of the hardest time, to keep this party alive. But I'm not going to do something that's going to harm the Democratic Party."

The congressman said he thought about running against Arizona's other senator, Mark Kelly, "for a long time" but that he ultimately decided it would likely result in a Democratic loss and he didn't want to sacrifice the party's seat.

"I literally have done everything I can to keep this party alive in this state, and I was not going to do it," Gallego said.

However, now that Sinema has left the Democratic Party, Gallego may be emboldened to mount a challenge against her.

Gallego has also been critical of Sinema in the past, saying the senator is "all about herself" and that she is unwilling to stump for other Democrats in the state—an approach he described as opposite to his.

"She doesn't care about the Democratic movement," he said. "She doesn't care about working class people. She's not going to be out there with Mark [Kelly]. She's not going to be out there with our gubernatorial nominee. It's not her nature."

"Honestly, she doesn't understand Arizona. I think that's actually the real thing," the congressman added. "I think she understands Arizona from a perspective many years ago, but she actually doesn't understand Arizona like what's happening. She's running based on past elections, but she isn't involved to see what's happening here."

Newsweek has reached out to Sinema and Ocasio-Cortez's offices for comment.