Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.) is raising eyebrows over critical comments she's made about Arizona, the state she hopes to represent as a U.S. senator.
Previous tweets and speeches have surfaced of Sinema bashing the state of Arizona, drawing questions less than a month from the midterm elections.
"Just one day, I'd like Arizona to be in the news for something good. Just one day people," Sinema tweeted in 2010.
Just one day, I'd like Arizona to be in the news for something good. Just one day people.
— Kyrsten Sinema (@kyrstensinema) June 4, 2010
"Dear Rest of the World, I just want you to know, Arizona wasn't always this crazy. It used to be pretty great, actually. Sincerely, Kyrsten," she tweeted in 2011.
Dear Rest Of The World, I just want you to know, Arizona wasn't always this crazy. It used to be pretty great, actually. Sincerely, Kyrsten
— Kyrsten Sinema (@kyrstensinema) March 1, 2011
In a 2010 speech at Netroots Nation, Sinema referred to Arizona as the "meth lab of democracy," though when the audience laughed she credited a Daily Show writer for the line.
New leaked footage further adds to @KyrstenSinema’s distaste for Arizona, calling it 'the meth lab of Democracy." #AZSEN pic.twitter.com/MdMFCSt0E1
— Senate Republicans (@NRSC) October 12, 2018
She also spoke at a Texas Democratic event in 2011 where she repeatedly mocked her home state for being "crazy."
"When we grew up I remember in first grade we learned a song about Arizona," she said. "Arizona is the state of the five C's: cattle, copper, citrus, cotton, and climate. And those were the five things that our state historically made its money off of. But I would add a sixth C, it's called ‘crazy.'"
CAUGHT ON TAPE: @kyrstensinema mocking Arizonans- "Damn, those people are crazy." #AZSEN pic.twitter.com/DFdTBIiUUF
— Martha McSally (@MarthaMcSallyAZ) October 11, 2018
In another video, Sinema, who is an assistant professor at Arizona State University, refers to the institution as a "party school" and says that not all her students "come with all the same kinds of academic tools and academic rigor" she would hope they'd come to class with.
In that same panel discussion, Sinema said she often has to teach her graduate level students that "Wikipedia is not an appropriate citation source."
Wow! Just got this from a follower. Turns out that @kyrstensinema does not only mock the adults in Arizona, but when she’s out of town, she also publicly mocks her own @ASU students. pic.twitter.com/dbRVMp2gWp
— Reagan Battalion (@ReaganBattalion) October 11, 2018
Sinema faces Republican candidate Rep. Martha McSally (R., Ariz.), a retired Air Force officer, to fill the seat currently held by Sen. Jeff Flake (R., Ariz.), who is not running for re-election. McSally was the first woman in U.S. history to fly a fighter jet in combat and the first to command a fighter squadron. A recent ABC15-OH poll has McSally polling above Sinema, 47 points to 41 points.