New fundraising reports show Democratic Senate candidate Rep. Reuben Gallego raising more money than Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I) in the Arizona Senate race.
Politico reported:
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) reported raising $2.1 million in the first three months of the year, trailing her likely Democratic challenger Ruben Gallego’s total but still positioning her with significant financial resources if she chooses to run for reelection.
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Sinema has kept mum so far on whether she plans to run for reelection in 2024. Should she decide to launch a bid, it could spark a three-way race as Democrats have largely coalesced around Gallego, whose campaign reported raising $3.7 million between his January launch and the end of March. His campaign committee reported $2.7 million cash on hand in documents filed with the FEC on Friday.
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Sinema hasn’t officially declared that she is running for reelection, but she would not have left the Democratic Party if she didn’t intend to seek another term in the Senate.
So far, the departure of Sen. Sinema has not caused difficulties in terms of fundraising for Rep. Gallego. In fact, the chance to beat Sinema is a highly motivating factor for many Democrats. While some national pundits think that Democrats could lose the Arizona Senate race in 2024 if it is a three-person contest, it is not clear if there is a viable lane for Sinema to win reelection.
The incumbent senator’s best hope might be for Republicans to nominate a far-right extremist like Kari Lake so that Sinema could win with a coalition of non-MAGA Republicans and Independents, but if that doesn’t happen, she may be a candidate without a base of support, because Democrats are firmly behind Rep. Gallego, and they are putting themselves in a position to potentially win.