- Sep 4, 2005
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CNN —
Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is leaving the Democratic Party and registering as a political independent, she told CNN’s Jake Tapper in an exclusive TV interview.
“I’ve registered as an Arizona independent. I know some people might be a little bit surprised by this, but actually, I think it makes a lot of sense,” Sinema said in a Thursday interview with Tapper in her Senate office.
“I’ve never fit neatly into any party box. I’ve never really tried. I don’t want to,” she added. “Removing myself from the partisan structure – not only is it true to who I am and how I operate, I also think it’ll provide a place of belonging for many folks across the state and the country, who also are tired of the partisanship.”
She adds to a slowly growing list that includes other recent ones like Tulsi Gabbard and Andrew Yang. (as well as people who've been "independent" for a while like Bernie Sanders and Justin Amash)
I see it as a good thing. The more people (with some name recognition) that do it, the more it'll
A) destigmatize Independents, and the more people will get comfortable with the prospect of voting for someone who doesn't have an (R) or (D) after their name, and
B) provide people with options, who don't neatly fit into one of the two existing buckets and allow them to still vote for some of the things they like, without having to carry a bunch of other pre-existing party baggage along for the ride.