Since Senator Kirsten Cinema (Irish, Arizona) left the Democratic Party last year, she has drained hundreds of donors and is now donating to the Democratic Party in an attempt to usurp her seat in the US Senate.
Arizona Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego raised at least $393,000 in the first quarter of 2023 from more than 300 donors who previously donated to Cinema’s Senate campaign, an analysis of campaign finance records shows. revealed according to Arizona Republic.
The amount, according to the Republic, is equivalent to $1 in about $4 Gallego raised from publicized donors in the first quarter, and $307,000 Cinema raised from its own former donors during the same period. surpassed.
“Cinema has repeatedly broken promises and left working Arizonans behind,” Rebecca Katz, a top Gallego campaign consultant, said in a statement to Deseret News. “She’s lost her credibility, which is why her donors are coming together in support of Ruben and his vision of Arizona’s future.”
Cinema, who won the Senate election in 2018, won the first Democratic Senate seat in Arizona in 30 years, but has not said whether he will seek re-election next year. Whether she can win as an independent has been an open question since she left her Democratic Party last December.
As a moderate, Cinema has sometimes angered former progressives in the party, but in theory, Arizona could be a friendly terrain for independent candidates. About 34% of Arizona’s registered voters are those who identify as “other,” according to the state, on par with registered Republicans and more than about 30% of registered Democrats.
February poll But according to OHPredictive Insights, a Phoenix-based market research and data analytics firm, cinema has seen the rise of Gallego and other potential critics such as former governor Doug Ducey, former senatorial candidate Blake Masters, and former gubernatorial candidate Karin Taylor-Robson. It turned out to be third place behind the Republican nominee. Kari lake.
How well cinema does in the three-way race could hinge heavily on the Republican nominee. Republican candidates aligning with former President Donald Trump have lost statewide elections in recent years, and if the GOP nominates another candidate aligning with Trump, Cinema will slam moderate and disgruntled Republicans. It may be easier to form coalitions of parliamentarians.
For now, moderates Ducey and Taylor-Robson appear unlikely to run, with Pinal County Sheriff only being declared a leading Republican nominee. Mark Lambhe has expressed far-right views on COVID-19 and the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
In fact, cinema has the highest approval ratings among Republicans in Arizona, with 42% of them saying they have a favorable opinion of her, followed by 35% of independents and 34% of Democrats. ing.
Gallego runs on the left side of the cinema, criticizing him for being more concerned about making money than the average Arizona public. His attack resonated with many Democratic voters in the state, 53% of whom hold a negative opinion of cinema. That’s even higher than her unfavorable rating of 46% among Republicans.
Arizona’s 2022 Senate election, the election costs between Sen. Mark Kelly (Democrat of Arizona) and Masters at $189.3 million, third most expensive Next year’s campaign cycle is also expected to be expensive, according to ad-tracking firm Ad Impact, with the bipartisan Cook Political newspaper leading the three races for the U.S. Senate along with Ohio and West Virginia. Highly rated as one of them.
