Senator Kirsten Cinema (I-AZ) sAs she ponders her political future, she’s focusing all her attention on the immigration problem on the southern border.
The Democratic-turned-independent has avoided answering questions about his plans for 2024 and has not said he will run for a second term. Instead, she said her top priority was to solve the problems plaguing her border state, Arizona.
Sen. Kirsten Cinema (I-Arizona) speaks to media representatives on Title 42 at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., Thursday, May 11, 2023.
(Graham Jennings/Washington Examiner)
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“You mentioned some great achievements you’ve achieved for the people of Arizona that you’re really proud of, but there’s still a lot of work to do,” Cinema said in an interview. NBC News. “And now immigration is my biggest concern.”
The Arizona senior senator has led three bipartisan visits to the U.S.-Mexico border this year, most recently with Senator James Lankford (R-Oklahoma) this week. And she has increasingly criticized the Biden administration’s “inadequate response” to the expiration of Title 42, its pandemic-era banishment policy.
Cinema this month partnered with Sen. Tom Tillis (R-N.C.) to introduction The bill to extend Title 42 for another two years would buy Congress time to negotiate a larger immigration reform bill. Their joint proposal would give Border Patrol agents the same deportation powers as Title 42, but not related to the COVID-19 public health emergency.
“We need lawmakers to actually change these things. [immigration] “The government can’t do that,” Cinema said in an interview. that is our job. ”
The battle for the cinema seat has become one of the most unpredictable battles in the cycle. Cook Political Report race ranking as a toss-up.
Progressive Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Arizona) announced in January that he would run for the Senate in 2024, likely in a three-way race. The Democratic Senate Election Committee has traditionally endorsed Senate Democratic incumbents, but has yet to decide which candidate to endorse.
With Arizona’s filing deadline next April, the Republican campaign could take longer to unfold. The state won’t have a primary until August 2024.
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Former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake is considering running for the U.S. Senate, and Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb became the first Republican to run for office last month.
Republican Blake Masters, who lost last year’s Senate election by 5 percentage points, is considering running. So did Abraham Hamadeh, who lost the 2022 Attorney General election. Karin Taylor-Robson lost to Lake in last year’s gubernatorial primary. And Republican businessman Jim Ramon lost a primary race for another Senate seat in Arizona in 2022.
