--- title: Arizona's Newest Senator Is No Cookie-Cutter Democrat description: Democrat Kyrsten Sinema pulled off a narrow victory after a Senate race that went into overtime for almost a week after the election canonical: https://time.com/5444385/arizona-senate-kyrsten-sinema-win-midterms/ author: Philip Elliott article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-11-13T02:39:16.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T21:55:57.918Z article:section: Politics og:title: Arizona's Kyrsten Sinema Flipped a GOP Seat in Overtime og:description: The Senate race went on for almost a week after the election og:url: https://time.com/5444385/arizona-senate-kyrsten-sinema-win-midterms/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt247ad57beb3cc47d/69893ef58fd2ee367f35d1f2/gettyimages-1057018980.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5344 og:image:height: 3006 og:image:alt: Arizona Senate Candidates Attend Arizona State Football Game og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Arizona's Kyrsten Sinema Flipped a GOP Seat in Overtime twitter:description: The Senate race went on for almost a week after the election twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt247ad57beb3cc47d/69893ef58fd2ee367f35d1f2/gettyimages-1057018980.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Arizona's Kyrsten Sinema Flipped a GOP Seat. But Don't Expect a Cookie-Cutter Democrat > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=34fa77b6-2c32-4cfd-aaca-f89cd466c17d&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1)  by [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott Senior Correspondent Nov 13, 2018 2:39 AM UTC  Democrat Senate candidate Kyrsten Sinema participates in the pregame coin toss before the game between the Utah Utes and the Arizona State Sun Devils on Nov. 3, 2018 in Tempe, Arizona. Democrat Senate candidate Kyrsten Sinema participates in the pregame coin toss before the game between the Utah Utes and the Arizona State Sun Devils on Nov. 3, 2018 in Tempe, Arizona. Christian Petersen—Getty Images  by [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott Senior Correspondent Nov 13, 2018 2:39 AM UTC The Senate race in Arizona was a battle of who could buck party the most and who could hold out hope the longest. The open seat, vacated by [retiring Republican Sen. Jeff Flake](http://time.com/5042705/donald-trump-jeff-flake-not-going-quietly/), went into overtime for almost a week until Monday evening when the Associated Press called the race and Republican Rep. Martha McSally conceded to her rival. Democratic lawmaker Kyrsten Sinema is expected to move her office from the House, where she is now, to the Senate. Either way, Arizona was going to make history and send its first female Senator to Washington. And in either scenario, that lawmaker was unlikely to be a cookie-cutter member of her party’s rank and file. Sinema, a former community organizer and Ralph Nader spokeswoman, was the first openly bisexual woman elected to the House and now the Senate. Never one to hew to the party line, she votes with President Donald Trump 62% of the time — a statistic that helps explain her narrow win in a place where Trump still remains popular. McSally, a one-time #NeverTrumper and a retired Air Force combat pilot, changed her tune to survive a three-way GOP primary. Exit polls found Trump carrying a 52% approval rating, and McSally carried 88% of those voters. The Senate race also serves as a preview to yet another Senate race expected to come in 2020\. Jon Kyl, a former Senator who retired in 2013, is filling in until then for the remainder of the term left after Sen. John McCain, a Republican, [died this summer](http://time.com/5384954/john-mccain-final-act/). There was widespread speculation that Kyl would step aside and Arizona’s Republican Governor would name McSally to the role. Arizona’s unique politics made the current race so close. While the state has tended to favor Republicans in recent years, there remains a Western independent streak that makes its politics fickle at best and scattershot at worst. That’s why candidates like Kelly Ward and Joe Arpaio were legitimate challengers to McSally in her GOP primary, and why folks like Flake and McCain could survive even as they ignored the GOP’s broader trends. Now heading to the Upper Chamber, it will be interesting to see if Sinema channels that maverick spirit that party leaders from both sides of the aisle begrudgingly respected in McCain and Flake. With the Senate set to have a Republican majority for the next two years, such an independent streak could break the logjam of Washington — or render the Senate even less functional. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5444385/arizona-senate-kyrsten-sinema-win-midterms/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5444385/arizona-senate-kyrsten-sinema-win-midterms/"},"headline":"Arizona's Kyrsten Sinema Flipped a GOP Seat. 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