| Kyrsten Sinema | |
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| Member of the Arizona Senate from the 15th district |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 10, 2011 |
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| Preceded by | Ken Cheuvront |
| Member of the Arizona House of Representatives from the 15th district |
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| In office January 10, 2005 – January 10, 2011 Serving with David Lujan |
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| Preceded by | Wally Straughn, Ken Clark |
| Succeeded by | Lela Alston, Katie Hobbs |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 12, 1976 Tucson, Arizona |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Residence | Phoenix, Arizona |
| Alma mater | Arizona State University |
| Profession | Attorney |
| Religion | Mormon (non-practicing) |
Kyrsten Sinema (born July 12, 1976) is a Democratic member of the Arizona State Senate, where she represents the 15th district. She previously served three terms in the Arizona House of Representatives from January 2005 to January 2011.
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Born in Tucson, Arizona, to conservative Mormon parents, Sinema moved to Phoenix in 1995. After graduating from Walton High School in DeFuniak Springs, Florida, at the age of 16, she attended Brigham Young University on a Benson Scholarship and earned a bachelor's degree in social work in 1994.[1] She then attended Arizona State University where she earned a masters degree in social work in 1999 and then a Juris Doctor in 2004.[2] She was a social worker in the Washington Elementary School District before becoming a criminal defense lawyer.[1][3] In 2001, she ran for the Phoenix City Council District 8. In a nine candidate race, she ranked last with just 2% of the vote.[4]
Sinema first ran for the Arizona House of Representatives in 2002, as an independent. She ranked last, got only 8% of the vote, and lost the general election to Ken Clark and Wally Straughn.[5]
She ran again in 2004 but this time as a Democrat. In the Democratic primary, she ranked first with 37% of the vote. David Lujan won re-election with 34%, and Straughn lost with 29%.[6]
She won re-election in 2004 (30%)[7], 2006 (33%)[8], and 2008 (38%).[9]
In 2010, she retired in the State House and ran for a seat in the Arizona Senate. Sinema defeated Republican Bob Thomas 63%-37%.[10]
In 2006 she chaired Arizona Together, the statewide campaign that defeated Proposition 107, which would have banned the recognition of same-sex marriage and civil unions in Arizona.[11] In 2008, she also led the campaign against Proposition 102, a narrowed down version of Proposition 107.[12] Proposition 102 was approved by 56% of voters in the general election on November 4, 2008.
She was Assistant Leader to the Democratic Caucus.
A supporter of Barack Obama's presidential campaign, Sinema was a delegate to the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver.[13] In July 2009, she published her first book, entitled Unite and Conquer: How to Build Coalitions That Win and Last.
In 2010 she was picked as one of Time Magazine's "40 Under 40" saying "In an epic election cycle, a new generation of civic leaders is already at work trying to fix a broken system—and restore faith in the process. Meet the rising stars of American politics".[14]
In June 2011, Sinema said she was considering running for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012.[15]
On January 3, 2012, Sinema announced her bid for Congress, in the newly created 9th Congressional District.[16]
Sinema is openly bisexual[17] and serves alongside four other openly LGBT legislators: Senators Jack Jackson (D–Window Rock), Paula Aboud (D–Tucson), Robert Meza (D–Phoenix) and Representative Matt Heinz (D–Tucson).[18]
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