From the first to the third quarter of this year, the share of registered Arizona voters who approve of the job performance of Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) has declined considerably, according to polling from Morning Consult. Earlier this year, Sinema garnered the job approval of 48 percent of that overall group, but now, her approval stands at just 42 percent — and in a state that has ended up with close election results and upset victories in recent years, such a change could make all the difference. She’s up for re-election in 2024.
Mostly, it’s been Arizona Democrats whose opinions of Sinema have changed, with approval for her job performance among the group falling by 21 percent since earlier this year. At that previous point, 67 percent of Arizona Democrats indicated that they approved of Sinema’s job performance — and now, approval for Sinema among Democrats is at just 46 percent, while a full 40 percent of Democratic respondents indicated that they disapproved. Thirteen percent of Democrats offered no opinion.
Sinema has recently garnered criticism over her opposition to a $3.5 trillion spending plan proposed by Democratic leaders, which, if passed, would provide federal financial support to a host of socially inclined programs falling under the heading of “human infrastructure,” such as child care and care for elders. The plan is designed as a complement to the bipartisan infrastructure deal passed by the Senate earlier this year, which focuses on more manual labor-oriented “infrastructure” projects. Because of Senate rules allowing for certain budget-related initiatives to be exempt from the chamber’s filibuster provisions, passing the $3.5 trillion spending plan is within Democrats’ power, and if enacted, the proposal would provide substantive support for large swathes of Americans. However, Sinema remains among those standing in the way of her own political party’s agenda.
