Sen. Kyrsten Sinema says she has no interest in becoming a Republican

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is facing challenges from the right and from the left, should she run for reelection in 2024. But the threat has not yet pushed the Democrat-turned-independent into the arms of the GOP.

Sinema is “absolutely” done with parties and will never join the Republican Party, she said Sunday during a pre-taped interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

“Now that you're an independent, you'll never become a Republican?” host Margaret Brennan asked.

“No,” Sinema said, adding: “You don’t go from one broken party to another.”

Sinema, who left the Democratic Party in December 2022, has not said whether she plans to run for reelection in 2024.

“I’m not here to talk about elections today,” she Sunday when pressed about her plans.

If she does run, Sinema will, at the least, face challenges from Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego and Republican Mark Lamb, the sheriff of Pinal County. But the senator has used her party transition to call for and end to the rise in the partisanship in Congress.

“I would suggest that what I tried to do in the United States Senate right is to show that we have differences, differences which should be celebrated,” Sinema said Sunday. “That's an important part of a democracy. But those differences shouldn't stop us from getting things done.”