Sen. Kyrsten Sinema rebukes election question that "makes Americans really hate politics"

Washington — Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, whose term expires at year's end, dodged a question about her reelection prospects on Sunday, pushing back on the "endless questions" about elections.

"I think folks across Arizona and the country know that when I decide I'm going to work on something that's important for our state and for our nation, I stay focused on it," Sinema said on "Face the Nation." "And I think that the endless questions about politics and elections are really exhausting and it's what makes Americans really hate politics."

• Transcript: Sen. Kyrsten Sinema on "Face the Nation," Feb. 4, 2024

Sinema has until April to file for reelection, which will require to garner around 42,000 signatures to qualify for the ballot in what would likely be a three-way race in the state against Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego and Republican Kari Lake. She announced in late 2022 that she was leaving the Democratic party, switching her party affiliation to independent in what she called a move to "reject party politics" by declaring independence from "the broken partisan system in Washington."

But Sinema appeared unfazed by the upcoming deadline, saying that she's committed to staying "laser-focused" on policy and "solving real problems."

"That's what I've shown that I do with the work that I do in the United States Senate," she said. "And it's what I'll stay focused on in the coming weeks as we seek to pass this legislation and make a real difference for the lives of Arizonans."

Sinema has been working with Sens. Chris Murphy and James Lankford for months on a bipartisan border security agreement that would be seen as a major breakthrough, should it pass, for immigration policy, which hasn't seen significant reform in Congress in decades. 

"Each time I visit border communities in my state, and I hear from folks whether it's in Bisbee, or Yuma or down in Oakville, they're not asking about elections," Sinema said. "They're asking about their everyday lives, because this crisis pleases us every single day."

Kaia Hubbard

Kaia Hubbard is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital based in Washington, D.C.