Ok, I’ve had it. I remained silent about Kyrsten Sinema for 10 years, but it’s time to break the silence.
I always had a distaste for candidates who criticize their opponents after they lose an election. It comes off as sour grapes even if it’s well-founded. But…(1/10)
I need to scratch an “I told you so” itch. For those who weren’t around or don’t remember, after serving in the AZ legislature together for five years, Kyrsten moved into my district in 2012 to run for Congress in a Dem primary against @AndreiCherny and me.
Fair to say…(2/10)
Kyrsten and I were friends before she jumped into the AZ9 race. We spoke after her decision and committed we would not “go negative” against each other in the campaign. We held a press conference and released a joint statement saying so.
She had nothing to lose because…(3/10)
She was the front-runner in early polling w/ her firebrand reputation in progressive circles. Everyone figured I’d have to bring her down with some dirt to pull ahead. But I kept my promise and ran a clean campaign.
Things changed when my grassroots campaign pulled ahead…(4/10)
In the final months of the race, Kyrsten’s campaign spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on mail to Democratic primary voters with 2 attacks against me:
1. She said I supported John McCain for President over Obama.
2. She said I supported private-school vouchers.
So…(5/10)