THE BATTLE FOR ARIZONA HEATS UP
When Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) was elected to serve Arizona in the U.S. Senate in 2018, she became the state’s first Democratic senator since 1994.
That title was short-lived, however, after Sinema announced in 2022 that she was leaving the Democratic Party and becoming an independent—a public rebuke to President Joe Biden from a swing-state moderate in a divided Senate.
Kari Lake, 2024 US Senate candidate from Arizona, speaks during CPAC in National Harbor, Md., on Feb. 24, 2024. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
Facing long reelection odds in what would have been a three-way Senate race, Sinema announced on March 5 that she wouldn’t seek reelection.
That tightens the race up to a two-person contest between formr gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.).
And the two candidates are ideological opposites fighting in the key battleground state. Gallego is a five-term incumbent in the lower chamber and a left-wing progressive; Lake is a “Make America Great Again” conservative and a close ally of former President Donald Trump.
Both candidates have solid bases within their parties’ more partisan contingents.
Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) holds a press conference outside of Silicon Valley Bank's regional office in Tempe, Ariz., on March 14, 2023. Rebecca Noble/AFP via Getty Images
But it won’t be party loyalists who determine the outcome in purple Arizona, where 34 percent of registered voters have no declared party affiliation. Independents in the mold of the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) remain a key voting bloc, and winning Sinema’s Senate seat will likely involve a race from the extremes toward the middle.
Several analysts, even among Republicans, confess that Sinema’s departure is a loss for Republicans, as Sinema could have split the Democratic vote and given Lake an easy path to victory.
“Well, look, if you’re looking at polling, certainly Ruben Gallego benefits from a one-on-one race with Kari Lake,” Phoenix Republican strategist Barreto Marson told The Epoch Times.
“I see the impact of Sinema leaving the race as a win for the Dems,” Aron Solomon, head of strategy at New Jersey-based Esquire Digital, agreed in comments to The Epoch Times. “There’s no way that Kari Lake beats Gallego in a simple one-on-one race.”
Others have downplayed these concerns.
“An open seat in Arizona creates a unique opportunity for Republicans to build a lasting Senate majority this November,” National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Steve Daines (R-Mont.) said in a statement.
“With recent polling showing Kyrsten Sinema pulling far more Republican voters than Democrat voters, her decision to retire improves Kari Lake’s opportunity to flip this seat.”
Now, observers say, Lake will need to court moderate Republicans who may have backed Sinema.
Currently, both Arizona Senate seats are occupied by senators who caucus with Democrats.
But with Trump polling over five points ahead of Biden in the swing state, according to RealClearPolitics averages, Arizona Republicans are hopeful that they can regain a voice in the upper chamber in 2024.
—John Haughey and Joseph Lord
BIDEN SET TO UNVEIL HIS 2025 BUDGET
President Biden will release his fiscal year 2025 budget today, which is expected to feature major tax increases for the wealthy and businesses, cuts in defense expenditures, and initiatives to make housing more affordable.
The president’s budget plan, which outlines his financial priorities, will hold special symbolic significance this year as he seeks re-election.
President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on March 7, 2024. Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images
Here are a few highlights expected from the budget proposal for the fiscal year starting in October.
Tax Proposals
Biden proposes to raise the corporate income tax rate to 28 percent from 21 percent. He also proposes increasing the corporate minimum tax rate to 21 percent from 15 percent.
The president’s plan quadruples the stock buyback tax and imposes a minimum tax on rich people, requiring them to pay at least 25 percent of their total income.
Defense Budget
Biden is expected to propose a total of $895 billion for defense and national security.
This is in line with a debt deal reached last year between the White House and then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, which capped the 2025 defense budget at 1 percent above the $886 billion 2024 budget.
The White House is reportedly planning to request less funding for procurement and research and development than previously projected to meet the budget cap requirement. The Pentagon is expected to slash orders for F-35 fighter jets and the much-delayed Virginia-class submarines.
Affordable Housing
Biden also seeks to address the growing deficit of affordable homes in the country.
He urges Congress to pass a mortgage relief credit that would provide a $10,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers.
Meanwhile, lawmakers are still struggling to fund the government for fiscal year 2024. They need to pass a second funding package of six bills, including one for defense, by a March 22 deadline.
—Emel Akan
WHAT’S HAPPENING
- Biden releases his budget proposal for fiscal year 2025.
- Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, CIA Director Bill Burns, and FBI Director Christopher Wray testify on worldwide threats before the Senate Select Intelligence Committee.
A social media account has been drawing attention for its breadth of parliamentary knowledge. The X account, run by a UK college student, has regularly corrected and aided staffers, lawmakers, and others on the Hill with speedy responses. Politico dug into the parliamentary savant in a recent article.
Billionaire Elon Musk revealed that he would back Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) to replace outgoing Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), The Epoch Times’ Naveen Athrappully reports. The comments come after Paul garnered around 97 percent support in a poll he posted to his X account, beating out frontrunners like Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas).
No Labels, the national political organization focused on electing centrist candidates, announced last week that it would launch a bipartisan presidential unity ticket in the general election, The Epoch Times’ Jeff Louderback reported. The proposed unity ticket could shape the outcome of the general election, potentially turning it into a four-way race between Biden, Trump, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and the No Labels effort.
Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who was a member of the now-defunct House Jan. 6 panel, suppressed exonerating evidence about Trump’s push to secure the Capitol ahead of Jan. 6, 2021, The Federalist reported in an exclusive article. Ahead of the Capitol breach, Trump allies have said, the former president attempted to authorize National Guard support but was blocked by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
