‘She Can’t Win a Primary Against Me’: Dem Ruben Gallego Says Sinema Left the Party Because of Him

Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) claimed Monday that Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) left the Democratic Party last week because she was afraid of facing him in a primary.

Gallego joined MSNBC’s All In where he and host Chris Hayes discussed the senator’s decision to leave the party. Sinema will still caucus with Senate Democrats.

“Right now, if you had to choose, would you run for Senate?” Hayes asked the Democrat from Arizona.

Gallego said he is currently exploring a 2024 run.

“Well, right now, what I’m choosing to do is to put the team together so I can make the decision,” he said. “I’ve been putting together a great team, I think, that will help me get in the right direction. I am a Marine first, a congressman second, and Marines [are] prepared. That’s what I’m doing right now.”

Hayes asked Gallego if he was surprised to see Sinema leave the Democratic Party. The lawmaker responded:

Not really, I thought she was going to do this eventually. Look, she claims to be independent. That’s not the case. The case is that she can’t win a primary against me and this is her only option. And more importantly, you know, she really just abandoned the values of Arizona, and her being independent has nothing to do with the values of Arizona, it just means that she has an easier time to run, and she can go talk to her friends in Wall Street and in the pharma companies.

Gallego said he had not spoken to Sinema recently and said she no longer represents her constituents.

Sinema announced her defection form the Democratic Party last week.

“I’ve never fit neatly into any party box,” she told CNN Jake Tapper. “I’ve never really tried. I don’t want to… Removing myself from the partisan structure – not only is it true to who I am and how I operate, I also think it’ll provide a place of belonging for many folks across the state and the country, who also are tired of the partisanship.”

Watch above, via MSNBC.

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