Krysten Sinema, who represents the swing 9th district in Arizona, is widely regarded as a potential Senate candidate for the Democrats in 2016. She did nothing but fan that fire Tuesday when she was one of only a handful of Democrats to vote for someone other than Nancy Pelosi as speaker. In explaining her vote for Georgia Rep. John Lewis, Sinema said in a statement: “The courage to take a principled stand for what is right is something I believe in deeply. I am proud of Congressman Lewis’s shared commitment and I was honored to cast my vote for him today.” Left unsaid is that by not voting for Pelosi, Sinema robs national Republicans of a cudgel by which to bash her as beholden to the liberal national Democratic leadership if she does run for Senate.
