Sen. Kyrsten Sinema says bipartisan approach will protect elections and prevent another Jan. 6

By Steve Goldstein
Published: Friday, February 11, 2022 - 10:01am
Updated: Friday, February 11, 2022 - 10:14am

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Kyrsten Sinema
sinema.senate.gov
Kyrsten Sinema

Arizona’s senior U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has faced dramatic criticism in recent months, especially because of her unwillingness to support changing filibuster rules in the Senate. That stance, at least in part, kept new voting rights legislation from moving forward.

Sinema said she’s taking the same approach to election reforms as she did while negotiating the bipartisan infrastructure law passed in 2021.

“The most important thing is that it happens with buy-in from both parties,” Sinema said, “so that both parties feel bound to these new changes, and loyal to the new system after the next presidential election.”

This has led longtime Sinema supporters to pull their backing and even make strong pushes to find a Democratic primary challenger to her before she’s up for reelection in 2024. But as Sinema continues to tout her bipartisanship, a recent ad campaign spotlights her accomplishments.

The Show spoke with Sen. Sinema and began by asking her to explain why — despite her efforts at bipartisanship — she wasn’t finding GOP support for voting rights legislation.

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