As first reported by Politico Influence, twenty progressive groups in Arizona, including two councils of the Arizona Democratic Party, plus a dozen current Arizona Democratic elected officials are calling for Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue to remove Kyrsten Sinema amidst ongoing scrutiny regarding her campaign spending and her blocking of Democrats’ agenda.
This news comes alongside reports that Democratic donors are abandoning Sinema and Sinema’s grassroots donations have all but come to a halt.
However, despite losing ground with grassroots donors and the Democratic base that made ActBlue what it is, Sinema has continued to use ActBlue to process large credit card donations from bankers, CEOs, lobbyists and other special interest donors, amounting to more than $262,000 last quarter.
“By standing in the way of Democrats codifying voting and abortion rights, passing immigration reform, and banning assault weapons, Kyrsten Sinema has made clear over and over that she is not a Democrat. It does not make sense for ActBlue to continue to allow her to use a platform built by and for Democratic voters,” said Sacha Haworth, spokesperson for Replace Sinema. “Sinema’s special interest donors can put their checks in the mail the old fashioned way.”
You can read the full letter HERE.
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Politico: Progressive Groups Ask Actblue To Boot Sinema
Hailey Fuchs, John Sakellariadis And Caitlin Oprysko | November 15, 2023
Twenty progressive groups in Arizona, including Indivisible Arizona, the Arizona Working Families Party and the AZ Medicare for All Coalition, and a dozen current Arizona Democratic elected officials are calling on ActBlue to remove Sen. Krysten Sinema (I-Ariz.) from the Democratic donation platform, according to a copy of the letter obtained by Daniel.
— Sinema left the Democratic Party last year and if she runs for reelection next year, she would face off against likely Democratic Senate nominee Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), who is already ahead of her in raising money from major Democratic donors.
— “As grassroots organizations and candidates or elected officials who are longtime donors and collaborators to ActBlue, we hope that your organization will stand on the right side of history and remove Sen. Sinema,” reads the letter, which is addressed to ActBlue CEO Regina Wallace-Jones. “There must be accountability for her continued obstruction and decision to turn her back on the Arizona voters, organizers, donors, allies, and volunteers who knocked on doors in 100+ degree heat and made calls to get her elected in 2018.”
— The letter also says that because of a procedural vote blocking a raise to the minimum wage and Sinema’s vote against student loan debt relief, she has become “a mouthpiece for the rich and powerful, not the small grassroots donors that inspired what ActBlue is today.”
— An ActBlue spokesperson declined to comment but the platform’s policies say that “an independent or third party incumbent that has a proven record of caucusing with Democrats” are allowed to use their platform, which would make Sinema still eligible. Sinema’s office also declined to comment.
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