Prominent Democratic consultant severs ties with Kyrsten Sinema
A prominent Democratic consultant has now cut ties with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) in wake of her decision to break from the political party — a critical partnership that will likely make her road to re-election far more difficult.
According to HuffPost, NGP VAN, a privately owned web hosting service provider that manages Democratic voter data, is set to cut ties with the newly independent lawmaker at the end of January. An inside source with details about the situation has reportedly confirmed the latest development.
HuffPost's Kevin Robillard offered an assessment of how this could complicate things for Sinema as she charts a new political path.
"The decisions make Sinema’s road to reelection even steeper and more complicated," Robillard wrote. "Polls of Arizona’s electorate show that her efforts to ingratiate herself with Republicans have mostly backfired electorally, alienating Democrats en masse without building up an equivalent base of independent or GOP voters."
He added, "Two Democratic congressmen from the state, Reps. Ruben Gallego and Greg Stanton, are both looking at runs for the party’s nomination, and a three-way battle with a Republican candidate seems likely."
Robillard also noted other issues that could lead to more political pushback for Sinema.
"It’s unclear where Sinema might turn to run a reelection campaign," he wrote. "She and her staff have avoided any talk of reelection, saying she has not yet made a decision about a 2024 run. But any Democrat who works with her is likely to face fierce pushback from progressives who argue Sinema’s actions have imperiled a key Senate seat."
Sacha Haworth, who served as communications director when Sinema launched her 2018 campaign, has also weighed in with a critical response to Sinema's break from the party. Now, she works for a group aiming to unseat her.
“Sinema abandoned the Democratic Party because she knew she couldn’t win a primary after spending years obstructing popular reforms and alienating her own voters,” said Haworth. “She chose to forfeit the Democratic Party infrastructure, so it’s only right that no Democratic staffer, consultant or vendor should work with her.”
