In midst of FEC scandal, Sinema now the second highest political spender online
In another sign that Sinema is actually thinking a lot about her reelection plans, Sinema’s campaign committee has been quietly ramping up its online spending, dishing out over $100,000 on digital ads in the past 90 days, making her the second highest political spender on digital. Sinema’s team has also been using her fake news Facebook page to run boosted ads promoting positive coverage of Sinema, a tactic which nonpartisan campaign experts say “undermines transparency.”
This is after the Wall Street Journal and the NY Post reported that Sinema held a campaign retreat (most likely stocked with room-temperature water and snacks to keep Kyrsten happy), which included a slideshow on her polling timeline, setting up an independent expenditure, and her communications strategy.
“Given Sinema is twenty-three points underwater with Arizonans, it’s no wonder her campaign is spending the money she gets from her special interest donors to try to distract Arizonans from her spending and ethics scandals,” said Sacha Haworth, spokesperson for Replace Sinema. “Sinema may play coy with the press on her re-election plans, but this ramped-up spending and her campaign retreat make it clear: despite her inevitably coming last in a three-way race, Sinema believes the seat belongs to her.”
Last month, based on reports that Sinema spent campaign funds on luxury hotels, car services, private jets, high-end restaurants, wine, and in pursuit of her athletic hobby, the Replace Sinema PAC filed a 27-page formal FEC complaint against Sinema for illegal campaign spending. It also raised questions about a $700,000 disbursement to her friend Tulsi Gabbard’s sister Vrindavan Gabbard Bellord for ongoing security services.
This is not the only formal complaint lodged against Sinema: a 37-page handbook for her Senate staff leaked last year detailed the amount of time she allotts 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 prompted an ethics complaint filed by 13 organizations 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 over $600,000 in grassroots donations from 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.
###