If Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., is going to be reelected to represent Arizona in the U.S. Senate, her campaign will need to make every dollar count.
According to a report filed with the Federal Election Commission last week, the two-term independent raised a mere $595,000 in the final three months of 2023. That amounts to less than one-fifth the haul of Democrat opponent Rep. Ruben Gallego and one-third of the likely Republican challenger Kari Lake.
Sinema's fourth-quarter figure is down significantly from the $816,000 she raised in the second quarter of 2023. While her chief Republican opponent is embroiled in controversy, Sinema's lackluster fund-raising likely stems from one major difference — she has yet to declare her candidacy.
"Kyrsten remains laser focused on continuing her work making a meaningful impact in the lives of Arizonans across the state — not on campaign politics," a spokesperson for her campaign said in a statement. "She has the resources to keep delivering lasting results for Arizona."
According to a recent poll by the Democrat-leaning firm Pubic Policy Polling, a hypothetical matchup between Gallego, Lake, and Sinema had Gallego and Lake essentially tied at 36% and 35, respectively, while Sinema polls a distant third at 17%.
Late in 2022, Sinema registered as an independent despite having won in 2018 as a Democrat. Although she never caucused with Republicans, the renegade move was likely off-putting to the Biden brand of Democrats who are seeking a reliable party-line vote. In June of 2021, Sinema along with Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., were the two votes that prevented the 60-vote filibuster requirement from being eliminated.
"Americans are told that we have only two choices — Democrat or Republican — and that we must subscribe wholesale to policy views the parties hold, views that have been pulled further and further toward the extremes. Most Arizonans believe this is a false choice, and when I ran for the U.S. House and the Senate, I promised Arizonans something different," she wrote in the Arizona Republic at the time, explaining her decision to constituents.
With the filing deadline of April 8 rapidly approaching, Sinema will need to spend some of her $11 million war chest on ballot collection to obtain the 40,000 signatures to qualify.