Local reporters are holding Sinema accountable for her luxury campaign spending, which raises ethics questions.
“Kyrsten Sinema has spent years avoiding Arizonans, holding town halls and meetings behind closed doors, so it’s no surprise she’s running away from reporters asking about her questionable campaign spending,” said Replace Sinema spokesperson Sacha Haworth. “If Sinema were actually accountable to the people who elected her, she would give constituents more than two minutes of her time, or meet with them in public, but instead she spends her workday getting massages, selling items on Facebook marketplace, and meeting with donors and lobbyists. That’s why Arizonans will replace her in 2024.”
As Channel 3 points out in the clip above, several campaign finance experts have said that Sinema’s campaign spending is outside the norm, spending large chunks on five-star hotels, exclusive vineyards, and luxury resorts, as well as being among the top spenders in the Senate on private jets. The reporter also states that Sinema’s fundraising has been “under a microscope” since she fought for a tax break (the carried interest loophole) that only benefits private equity. As is also mentioned in the TV clip, half of Sinema’s donations last quarter came from only three private equity firms.
Sinema notably has a history of putting herself, donors, and lobbyists first and Arizonans last, prompting ethics complaints in the process: a 37-page handbook for her Senate staff leaked last year detailed the amount of time she allots for constituent meetings (3 minutes) versus that for lobbyists (20 minutes), her weekly hour-long appointments with the Senate personal masseuse, and her unwillingness to work past 6:30 pm. The handbook spurred an ethics complaint filed by 13 advocacy groups for her alleged abuse of staff, including requiring them to do her grocery shopping, make sure she is fed at all times, and fix her internet.
About Replace Sinema: The “Replace Sinema” campaign, a project of Change for Arizona 2024 PAC, was launched in September 2022 as “Primary Sinema” to educate voters about the ways Krysten Sinema has let down Arizonans and caved to special interests. To date, the campaign has raised $1.2 million – including from more than 17,000 grassroots donors representing everyday Arizonans and Americans across the country who want to replace Kyrsten Sinema with a real Democrat. Now, as Kyrsten Sinema has left the Democratic Party, the group’s effort has shifted toward defeating Sinema in a potential three-way general election and ensuring that Arizonans have a Senator who will put everyday people ahead of corporations and special interests.