US Senator Kyrsten Sinema leaves Democratic Party

Arizona: US Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona is leaving the Democratic Party to become independent.  She said just days after Democrats won a Senate race in Georgia and secured 51 seats in the 100-member chamber riven by deep political divisions.

Writing an article in the Arizona Republic newspaper yesterday, Sinema said that like a lot of Arizonans, she has never fit perfectly in either national party.

Forty-six years old Sinema's



statement so far indicate she will continue working in the independent-minded way she demonstrated over the past two years: collaborating with Democrats and Republicans to enact legislation.

Democrats have held the Senate with a 50-50 majority, as Vice President Kamala Harris has the power to cast tie-breaking votes. Senator Raphael Warnock's victory in Tuesday's Georgia runoff election handed them their 51st seat.