Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) said she’s focusing all her attention on the immigration problems playing out on the southern border as she considers her political future.
The Democrat-turned-independent has been evasive when asked about her plans for 2024 and has not committed to running for a second term. Instead, she said her top priority is solving the troubles plaguing Arizona, a border state.
BIDEN'S OTHER CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS: STUDENT LOANS CANCELLATION IN LIMBO
“You mentioned some great accomplishments that I’m really proud to have achieved for Arizonans, but there is still a lot left on the table to be done,” Sinema said in an interview with NBC News. “And right now, immigration is my No. 1 concern.”
The senior Arizona senator has led three bipartisan trips to the U.S.-Mexico border this year, most recently this week with Sen. James Lankford (R-OK). And she has been increasingly critical of what she has called the Biden administration’s “insufficient response” to the expiration of Title 42, the pandemic-era expulsion policy.
Sinema teamed up with Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) this month to introduce legislation that would extend Title 42 for another two years, buying Congress time to negotiate a larger immigration reform bill. Their joint proposal would give Border Patrol agents the same expulsion authority as Title 42, but it would not be connected to the COVID-19 public health emergency. She is also working with Tillis and Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX), Chris Murphy (D-CT), and Chris Coons (D-DE) on an immigration framework they released last year.
“We need members of Congress who are willing to actually change these [immigration] laws," Sinema said in the interview. "The administration can’t do that. That’s our job.”
The race for Sinema’s seat has become one of the most unpredictable battles of the cycle, with the Cook Political Report ranking the race as a toss-up.
Progressive Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) announced in January he would run for Senate in 2024, setting up a likely three-way race. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee traditionally backs Senate Democratic incumbents, but it has yet to make a decision about which candidate it will support.
The race on the Republican side could take longer to develop due to Arizona's filing deadline, which is next April. The state’s primaries aren’t until August 2024.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake is considering a run for the Senate seat, while Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb became the first Republican to enter the race last month.
Republican Blake Masters, who lost his Senate bid last year by 5 percentage points, is considering a run. So are Abraham Hamadeh, who lost the 2022 attorney general’s race; Karrin Taylor Robson, who lost the gubernatorial primary to Lake last year; and Republican businessman Jim Lamon, who lost in the primary for Arizona’s other Senate seat in 2022.