The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

The politics of Kyrsten Sinema’s party switch

Analysis by
Staff writer
Updated December 9, 2022 at 9:15 a.m. EST|Published December 9, 2022 at 9:03 a.m. EST
The Post’s Liz Goodwin analyzes the politics behind Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s decision to re-register as an independent and how it could alter the Senate. (Video: JM Rieger/The Washington Post, Photo: Elizabeth Frantz/The Washington Post)
6 min

Three days ago, we wrote about a few reasons the Georgia Senate runoff — and whether Democrats’ majority would grow to 51-49 — mattered, practically speaking. One of those reasons? The possibility of a party switch.

That has already come to pass: Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) announced in a series of interviews, a video and an op-ed Friday that she will re-register as an independent. She becomes the first senator to leave her party since Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) in 2009.