A new Rasmussen Reports poll released Monday finds that most voters, 60%, approve of Arizona Sen. Krysten Sinema leaving the Democratic Party to become an independent, and 76% said they believe the political system in the country is “broken.”
The poll was conducted Dec. 14-15 and 18 with 900 likely U.S. voters and has a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points, according to Rasmussen.
The former Democrat announced her move Dec. 9, writing in an opinion piece in the Arizona Republic newspaper that she “never fit perfectly in either national party.”
“That’s why I have joined the growing numbers of Arizonans who reject party politics by declaring my independence from the broken partisan system in Washington,” she wrote at the time. “I registered as an Arizona independent.”
While 75% of Republicans liked the move, and even 45% of Democrats favored her decision to drop from the party, another 44% of Democrats said they did not like her move, according to the poll.
According to the poll, those favoring her decision to leave the Democratic Party included a plurality among almost all gender, racial, socio-economic, and ideological groups.
Just 27% of those polled disagreed with her decision, most of them [41%] were Democrats, and 13% of those surveyed said they were not sure.
According to the poll, voters are evenly split with 38% viewing her favorably and another 38% giving her an unfavorable rating, and 24% of those surveyed said they were not sure.
Most voters, however, do agree with Sinema that the political system in the country is broken, with 76% believing it is and just 18% saying it is not a broken system.
Just 5% said they were not sure, according to the survey.
Of those believing the system is broken, almost half, 49%, said that they “strongly agree.”
“Arizonans – including many registered as Democrats or Republicans – are eager for leaders who focus on common-sense solutions rather than party doctrine,” Sinema wrote when she announced her decision earlier this month. “But if the loudest, most extreme voices continue to drive each party toward the fringes – and if party leaders stay more focused on energizing their bases than delivering for all Americans — these kinds of lasting legislative successes will become rarer.”
The New York Times reported earlier this month that Sinema’s decision could help thwart an attempt by the Democrats to put up someone against her in the 2024 primary when she seeks a second term in the Senate.
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