Kyrsten Lea Sinema (/ˈkɪərstən ˈsɪnəmə/; born July 12, 1976) is an American politician serving as the senior United States Senator for Arizona since January 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she served three terms as a state representative for Arizona’s 15th legislative district from 2005 to 2011, one term as the state senator for Arizona’s 15th legislative district from 2011 to 2012, and three terms as the United States Representative for Arizona’s 9th congressional district from 2013 to 2019.
Sinema began her political career in the Arizona Green Party and rose to prominence for her LGBT rights and anti-war advocacy. She joined the Arizona Democratic Party in 2004 and won the 2012 United States House of Representatives election in Arizona’s 9th congressional district. After her election to the United States Congress, she joined the New Democrat Coalition, the Blue Dog Coalition and the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, amassing a moderate voting record. She won the 2018 United States Senate election in Arizona to replace the retiring Jeff Flake, defeating Republican nominee Martha McSally. Sinema is the first bisexual and the second LGBT woman (after Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin) to be elected to the House of Representatives and to the Senate in 2013 and 2019, respectively.[1] She also was the first woman elected to the Senate from Arizona.[2]
Sinema is considered a moderate or conservative Democrat and a proponent of bipartisanship.[3][4] Since her election to the Senate, Sinema has voted with President Donald Trump 25.6% of the time, the second most for a Democratic senator.[5] In the 115th Congress (2017 to 2019), Sinema voted with Trump 62.6% of the time.[6]
