WASHINGTON — One of the biggest contributors to Senator Kyrsten Sinema’s political rise announced Tuesday it would cut its funding if the senator continues to refuse to change Senate filibuster rules to allow for sweeping voting rights legislation.
Emily’s List, the largest funder of female Democratic candidates who support abortion rights, made the extraordinary announcement as the Senate this week headed to vote on a bill to reverse voting restrictions passed by some Republican-led state legislators.
If, as expected, Republicans block the bill with a filibuster, Democratic leaders plan to try to change Senate rules to overcome minority party opposition. To do that, Democratic leaders would need all 50 members of their caucus on board. But Arizona Democrat Ms Sinema has said she won’t vote to change the rules, making her — along with another party pursuing her, Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia — a target of the ire of liberal activists. .
“Recognizing that ballot access and confidence in election results are critical to our work and our country, we have united with many others to educate Senator Sinema about the importance of pending Senate voting rights legislation,” Laphonza Butler , the chairman of Emily’s List, in a statement. “So far, those concerns have not been allayed.”
She added: “Right now, Senator Sinema’s decision to reject the votes of allies, partners and voters who believe the importance of voting rights outweighs that of a secretive process means she will stand alone in the next election. .”
Emily’s List faced mounting pressure from liberal activists and her own backers to take a stand ahead of this week’s showdown. The group was by far Ms. Sinema’s largest donor in her run for the Senate in 2018, and potential primary challengers for her next run in 2024, such as Arizona Representative Ruben Gallego, are starting to make some noise.
Massachusetts Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren emphatically declined on Tuesday to rule out supporting a primary challenge to Ms. Sinema.
“We’ll deal with that when we’re over this week,” Ms Warren said on “CBS Mornings” when pressed on the case.
Vermont independent Senator Bernie Sanders also hinted that he could support a primary challenge to either Mrs. Sinema or Mr. Manchin.
“Anyone who believes in American democracy must vote to allow us to go ahead with 50 votes to suspend the filibuster,” he said Tuesday.
Understand the struggle for voting rights in the US
Why is voting rights a problem now? In 2020, as a result of the pandemic, millions of people have embraced voting in person or by mail, especially among Democrats. Spurred on by Donald Trump’s false claims about mail ballots in hopes of undoing the election, the GOP has pursued a host of new voting restrictions.
Ms Sinema said in a speech on the Senate floor last week that she supported voting rights legislation, which would provide a national basis for early voting, absentee ballots and ballot boxes; codify voter identification rules; promote donor transparency; and adopt strict rules against the substitution of impartial election officials for no reason, among other provisions.
But Ms Sinema said she would not support any party that unilaterally dismantles the filibuster, which requires the votes of 60 senators to cut off debate on most legislation. If she did, she said, any future for duality in the room would be destroyed.
Even if she gives in to the pressure, Mr. Manchin can still thwart the rule change. And Tuesday he was firm.
“You have the right to change your mind; I don’t,” he said of his Democratic colleagues. “I hope they respect that too. I never changed my mind about the filibuster.”
Emily Cochrane reporting contributed.