Dem Senate candidate says she won’t support Schumer as party leader

Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) said she will not vote for Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) if she is elected to the upper chamber, according to Politico.

“I am not going to vote for him,” Sinema told the news outlet, making her the first Senate candidate to publicly come out against Schumer.

The Senate doesn’t hold public votes for caucus leadership, which are worked out in closed-door meetings.

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Sinema’s comments come amid a growing debate over the future of the Democratic Party, with critics slamming Democratic leadership for being out of touch.

Some Democratic House candidates have recently said they won’t vote for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

Last week, Pelosi defended current Democratic leadership while fielding questions about New York House candidate Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez’s upset win over incumbent Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.), whom some had floated as Pelosi’s successor.  

“They made a choice in one district,” Pelosi said following the election. “So, let’s not get yourself carried away as an expert on demographics and this or that within the caucus or outside the caucus.”

Sinema in 2016 voted against Pelosi.

Schumer backed Sinema’s campaign early on, telling her before she announced her campaign that he would support her over other primary candidates.

Sinema would be Arizona’s first Democratic senator in 30 years. She is running to replace Sen. Jeff Flake (R), who is retiring at the end of this Congress.

Her campaign has frequently revolved around her centrist policies and resistance to the Democratic Party’s status quo.