Senator Sinema, blocking Biden's agenda, faces backlash at home

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema

U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is growing increasingly isolated from some of her Democratic party’s most influential officials and donors.

The backlash arose from her role in scuttling voting rights legislation that many Democrats consider essential to preserving democracy.

Sinema faces a vote of disapproval and possible censure from leaders of the Arizona Democratic Party on Saturday.

It will be a symbolic condemnation for the woman who just three years ago brought the party an Arizona Senate seat for the first time in a generation.

Donors are threatening to walk away. Several groups are already collecting money for an eventual primary challenge, even though she’s not on the ballot until 2024.

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Young activists are holding a second hunger strike to draw attention to Sinema’s vote.

The moves offer a preview of the persistent opposition Sinema will likely face within her own party in the two years before she next appears on a ballot.

The independent streak that has given her tremendous leverage over the agenda in Washington has enraged many Democrats back home who are intent on preventing her reelection.

“Any reservoir of goodwill that she had is gone,” said Rep. Ruben Gallego, an Arizona Democrat who may challenge Sinema from the left.

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