Kyrsten Sinema

“I'm just really proud of the Democratic caucus. I look around in our meetings, and I think we really look like America.”

“I lived for two years in an abandoned gas station with no running water and no electricity after my parents got divorced and my stepdad couldn't get a job. So I think a lot about families like mine who were middle class and struggled. So that experience really drives my philosophy.”

“I think there's this pressure to get rid of the fun that makes us human. It hasn't worked on me.”

“The number one thing I will take with me is my experience as a social worker who saw what happened to families who couldn't find jobs, struggled to take care of their health and saw opportunity slipping away for their kids. I ran for Congress because politicians were fighting with each other instead of looking out for these families.”

“I was not a Democrat; I was an independent. Here's the thing: You can't win that way. But I didn't know that.”

“I spent nearly two decades as a social worker and an educator with kids. So, my whole life has been about helping middle-class families. So it's just kind of a hollow argument to say I'm not a family person.”

“Sometimes when troops are overseas working these incredibly long hours in a difficult situation, they're not always hearing how much they're appreciated.”

“While I am grateful for the friendships and relationships that I have with my Republican colleagues, it would be naive to pretend that those friendships will change the way that major policies are enacted in Arizona.”

“I remember when I was a young social worker, the first time I went to the state capital in Arizona, where I eventually served for seven years, I was so nervous to go and lobby my state legislators. Because I only had a master's degree at the time in social work.”

“I kind of grew up with a mix of two things. One was kind of this individual work ethic that my father and my stepfather and my mother all taught me, which was never depend on anyone else to do things for you, and work really hard on your own. At the same time, I benefited from the help of church and family and government my whole life.”

“I speak my mind. I'm not really afraid of things. I actually don't think that's that unusual.”