The Arizona senator, who hasn’t said if she’ll run again, raised almost $200,000 from donors who have given thousands to Republicans over the years
As she weighs a reelection bid, Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has garnered support from big-money donors who have given thousands of dollars to Republican committees over the past few election cycles.
Since her victory in 2018, Sinema has built a war chest of around $10.8 million dollars, according to her latest filing with the Federal Election Commission, more than any of her prospective opponents.
“Over the past four years we’ve helped make a meaningful impact for Arizonans in every corner of our state — and we have the resources to continue our work helping Arizonans build better lives for themselves and their families,” Sinema said in a statement announcing her cash on hand entering October.
But her third-quarter fundraising report revealed that she is pulling from a shrinking base of donors, and has turned to soliciting donations from GOP donors who have funded Republican attacks against her Democratic colleagues in recent years. Sinema raised just under $826,000 in the third quarter, spanning July through September. She has seen a downtick each quarter this year, raising $2.1 million in the first quarter and $1.6 million in the second quarter.
Sinema is in a precarious position. The centrist dealmaker, first elected to the Senate in 2018, hasn’t made her plans official, but she has lost support from Democratic and progressive groups in Arizona that supported her in 2018. Her Democratic opponent, Rep. Ruben Gallego, has outraised her for three straight quarters, although Sinema has more money banked.
Between transfers from her leadership committee and individual contributions to her campaign, Sinema raised $197,400 from GOP donors who have given thousands of dollars over the years to Republican candidates and causes. Many of these donors have given thousands of dollars to the Senate Leadership Fund, the super PAC aligned with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and the main vehicle for GOP attack ads against Democratic Senate candidates. SLF spent around $17 million opposing Sinema back in 2018.
"What with every poll showing Sinema to be a loser and a spoiler in the Arizona Senate race, it’s clear her pool of donors is shrinking, and all that’s left are the same Republicans who fund extreme attack ads against her former Democratic colleagues and Leader Schumer,” said Sacha Haworth, a senior advisor to Replace Sinema, a group dedicated to ousting Sinema in 2024.
Harlan Crow, a conservative mega donor who has been under scrutiny since a ProPublica investigation revealed his close relationship with Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, donated $1,200 to Sinema this quarter. He’s donated $6,600, the maximum amount, to Sinema this election cycle.
Crow has donated $725,000 to the Senate Leadership Fund. He also donated $500,000 to the Congressional Leadership Fund, the main House GOP super PAC, in 2018.
Marc Stern, the chairman of TCW Group, an asset management firm with approximately $200 billion in assets under management, has donated the maximum amount to Sinema. Stern has given $800,000 to the Senate Leadership Fund since 2017 and has donated over $300,000 to the Republican National Committee. His wife, Eva, has also donated the maximum amount to Sinema.
Sinema has also received the maximum amount of donations from Greg Maffei, the CEO of Liberty Media, which owns Formula 1 Racing, SiriusXM Radio, and Major League Baseball’s Atlanta Braves. Maffei has given $100,000 to the Senate Leadership Fund in 2019 and $100,000 to Security is Strength PAC, a super PAC backing South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham.
David Solomon, the Goldman Sachs CEO, cut a $3,700 check to the Sinema Leadership Fund. He’s donated over $73,000 to the House GOP’s reelection efforts and has also contributed the maximum amount to South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott’s presidential campaign. William Duhamel, a managing member of Route One Investment Company, a hedge fund, maxed out to Sinema. He has also donated $224,600 to 2024 Republican Senate Victory, a joint fundraising committee that raises money for GOP incumbents up for reelection, the NRSC, and for nominee funds in Montana, Ohio, and West Virginia, the GOP’s top three targets.
A memo first reported by NBC News showed Sinema pitching donors on a potential path to victory. The document said Sinema would need to win over 10% to 20% of Democrats, 60%-70% of independents, and 25%-35% from Republicans.
After Sinema left the Democratic Party shortly after the 2022 midterms, Arizona’s Senate race has been the subject of intrigue, as Democratic and Republican operatives try to map out how the most unpredictable race on the map will play out. Republican Kari Lake, the former newscaster who lost the 2022 gubernatorial election, launched a Senate bid last week. Lake, a diehard Trump supporter and election denier, is likely to secure the GOP nomination even though she has yet to acknowledge she lost her last race.
Sinema, however, still caucuses with Democrats in the Senate. And while Arizona Democrats are no longer supporting her, her colleagues in Washington need her vote in a closely divided Senate, where Democrats hold a 51-49 majority. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has not picked a side yet between Gallego and Sinema.
On Tuesday, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer awarded Sinema with a coveted seat on the Appropriations Committee, where she replaced the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a sign she has not lost her influence in the upper chamber.