Donors Threaten To Drop Support of Kyrsten Sinema Unless Democrat Supports Voting Rights Legislation

(Photo : Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
US Senator Kyrsten Sinema, Democrat of Arizona, arrives for a meeting between US President Joe Biden and the Senate Democratic Caucus to discuss the passing of legislation to protect the constitutional right to vote and the integrity of elections, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, January 13, 2022.

Several donors who have already spent millions to elect Kyrsten Sinema and other Democratic senators are threatening to drop their support if the Arizona official did not support the changing of Senate rules in order to pass voting rights legislation.

The situation comes as a letter was sent to Sinema where 70 Democratic donors, some of whom were crucial to giving the Arizona senator her 2018 campaign's maximum contribution allowed by law. The document wrote that they will support a primary challenge to Sinema and demanded that she return their financial contributions if she continues her opposition.

Voting Rights Legislation

In the 1,400-word letter, donors said that they were terrified about their prospects as a democracy if the Freedom to Vote Act and John Lewis VRA Act were not passed. They said that without Sinema's support on the bills, they would die out and noted that bipartisanship only worked if it was reciprocal. Donors argued that Republicans were gutting the electoral system in state capitals with no federal check, Politico reported.

The president of Emily's List, Laphonza Butler, released a statement on Tuesday warning Sinema that the Arizona senator may find herself standing alone in the next election. She said that it was crucial to understanding that access to the ballot box and confidence in election results for the betterment of the country.

Butler said that she and others have joined many more in attempting to encourage Sinema to understand the importance of the pending voting rights legislation in the Senate. She added that, so far, those concerns have not been addressed.

She announced that Emily's List has chosen not to endorse or contribute to Sinema since her election in 2018. Butler insisted that the Arizona senator's decision to reject the voices of allies, partners, and constituents will cause her to lose those allies in the next election, Fox News reported.

Dropping Support for Sinema

In the event that Republicans block the bill with a filibuster, which is what many are expecting, Democratic leaders plan to try to change the Senate's rules to overcome the minority party's opposition. But to do that, the left-wing would need the support of all 50 members of their caucus on board, including Sinema.

Sinema released a statement on Tuesday night noting that the filibuster "has been used repeatedly to protect against wild swings in federal policy, including in the area of protecting women's health care." The Arizona senator said that different people of good faith can have honest disagreements about policy and strategy.

"Such honest disagreements are normal, and I respect those who have reached different conclusions on how to achieve our shared goals of addressing voter suppression and election subversion and making the Senate work better for everyday Americans," said Sinema, the New York Times reported.

Emily's List, which is the largest funder of female Democratic candidates who support abortion rights, has faced growing pressure from liberal activists and its own donors to take a stand on the issue ahead of this week's showdown. The group is the biggest donor to potential primary challengers for Sinema's 2024 run, including Rep. Ruben Gallego.