Kyrsten Lea Sinema is an American politician currently serving as senior United States senator from Arizona. Kyrsten is a democrat who first started her political journey from the Arizona Green party and later joined the Democratic Party.
Who is Kyrsten Sinema?
The Arizona Senator was born in Tuscon to a middle-class family. When she was eight, her parents divorced, and she moved to Florida with her mother and sister. They became homeless after her stepfather lost his job, forcing the family to live at an abandoned gas station. She often recounts this as a key experience, saying it motivated her to become a social worker and a politician.
Kyrsten Sinema Education and Career
A few years later the family’s fortunes changed, and Sinema was able to graduate school at 16. She then attended Brigham Young University (BYU) in Utah, where she got a bachelors’ degree in social work. Sinema went on to get a masters’ degree in social work from Arizona State University in 1999, and also has a PhD. She started out as a social worker for a low-income elementary school in Pheonix. According to the Elle biography, “In 2000, her school district’s budget was on the chopping block, and her fellow social workers nominated her to go to the state capitol to fight the cuts.” It was at that moment she decided to run for office.
She lost her first election running as an independent. In the next cycle, she registered as a Democrat and became Arizona’s youngest lawmaker. Sinema then went on to represent Arizona’s 9th district as a Congresswoman in 2013, before being elected to the Senate in 2019.
Who is Krysten Sinema’s Husband?
Sinema met Dain when the duo was studying at BYU. Dain was reportedly several years senior to her. Sinema has never publicly spoken about her marriage, so there is almost nothing we know about Dain. Sinema is famously tight-lipped about her private life. When asked by Friedman about her personal life, she replied, “I don’t really think that’s any of your business. Not a lot of people ask young men in politics.”
Sinema has never mentioned Dain or her marriage, so there is no word on whether the two were indeed married, or just dating. We also don’t know if her relationship with Dain led her to discover her bisexuality, or if she always was bisexual.
Kyrsten Sinema Sexuality and Support for the LGBTQ Community
Simena’s declaration of her sexuality came in a rather dramatic fashion. In 2005, when she was serving in the Arizona State Legislature, a Republican colleague insulted LGBTQ people. Responding, she passionately declared, “We’re simply people like everyone else who want and deserve respect.” When reporters asked her about the use of ‘we’, she replied “Duh, I’m bisexual.”
She is also a strong advocate for LGBTQ rights in Congress, despite being more moderate than some of her colleagues. In 2006, she was at the forefront of the opposition to the proposed amendment to the Arizona state constitution which would have banned same-sex marriages and civil unions. She also played a key role in 2014, when Arizona legalized gay marriage.
In 2020, she signed a letter in support of the Equal Rights Act that was sent to then-majority leader Mitch McConnell. However, her strong support for the filibuster means that it is unlikely that the act will pass.
Kyrsten ambiguous nature has earned her the title of being a moderate democrat. She was all over the news recently for siding with the republicans and voted down the minimum wage increase amendment to President Biden’s coronavirus relief bill, again inviting a lot of criticism for taking a stand so ambiguous.
Conclusion
Kyrsten’s father was an attorney in Arizona, and her parents reportedly got divorced when she was a child. She was then relocated to Florida along with her mother, two siblings, and her stepfather, where the family soon went homeless. She graduated from Walton High school and earned her BA from Brigham University. She then worked as a social worker from 1995 to 2002, receiving a Master of social work degree from Arizona State University, and received her law degree from Arizona state university college of law.
Sinema started her political endeavour from the Green party and was its local spokesperson but soon left it to join Arizona Democratic Party. From there, she was elected to the United States House of Representatives.
Kyrsten Sinema has come out as bisexual and is the first in congress to do so. She was married to a Brigham Young University classmate Blake Dain in 1995 but in 1999, they divorced.
