Here's the strongest signal yet that Sen. Kyrsten Sinema will run next year

This week saw the surest sign yet that U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema will run for reelection.

Several of the state’s heavyweight Republican fundraisers are holding an event to raise money for the Democrat-turned-independent, reports the Washington Post’s Yvonne Wingett Sanchez.

John Graham, chairman and CEO of Sunbelt Holdings, Sharon Harper, CEO and co-founder of the Plaza Companies, Craig Krumwiede, president and CEO of Harvard Investments and Mike Ingram, founder of El Dorado Holdings, will hold a fundraiser for Sinema on Sept. 29.

Sinema has some heavyweight fundraisers

Harper served as national finance chairman for Sen. John McCain during both his 2000 and 2008 presidential runs. She chaired Gov. Doug Ducey’s reelection campaign in 2018 but in 2020, she supported Democrat Mark Kelly and co-chaired his transition team.

“Arizona gets some headlines for being too far left or too far right, and it’s unfortunate because the real Arizona is right in the middle,” Harper told the Post last year, in explaining her support for Kelly.

Graham is a major contributor to the Republican Party and supported Martha McSally in both her 2018 and 2020 runs for the Senate.

Ingram contributed heavily to Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign but backed Kelly in 2022.

Krumwiede also backs Republican candidates — and now, Sinema.

Early polls show her struggling to win

Their invitation to the Sept. 29 event notes Sinema’s role as a centrist who helped forge compromises that led to some of this year’s most important laws.

“Kyrsten promised Arizonans she’d be an independent Senator, and that is exactly what she’s done,” the invitation notes, referring to her role in getting bills passed to help veterans, fund infrastructure and boost the production of semiconductors.

That’s got to be music to the years of Sinema, whose campaign will be all about attracting moderates and disaffected Republicans who have been chased off by the party’s hard right.

Early polls don’t give Sinema much of a chance, with most showing Rep. Ruben Gallego would win a three-way race.

But it’s early days. I wouldn’t count her out just yet — or (gulp) Kari Lake, the likely Republican nominee.

But don't count Sinema out just yet

Gallego is a dyed-in-the-wool liberal, running in a state that is purple at best.

Kelly’s secret sauce was his appeal to the middle — along with a Trump-endorsed opponent who early on advocated for a national abortion ban.

Lake is a mini-me Donald Trump who has only become more polarizing since losing the governor’s race last year.

But in a three-way race, her diehard MAGA support could be enough to eke out a win.

Another view: Gallego will regret running as a liberal

Sinema, meanwhile, would likely pull a sizable number of disaffected Republicans to her camp, and she should be a draw to independents who are now the state’s largest bloc of voters.

But can she pull enough of them along with a few moderate Democrats?

With no party’s backing, Sinema won’t have the boots-on-the-ground support of her Republican or Democratic opponents.

But she has $10.8 million in the bank already, thanks to her pals in corporate America, and now, heavy hitters in Arizona GOP circles.

And with money, she can run a decent campaign that appeals to the voters who find themselves stranded between the deeply dug foxholes on the right and left.

I wouldn’t count her out.

Reach Roberts at laurie.roberts@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @LaurieRoberts.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Sen. Kyrsten Sinema sure is fundraising like she'll run for reelection