Kyrsten Sinema announced she's not running for reelection in the most on-brand way possible

Say this for Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, the U.S. senator from Arizona who announced Tuesday that she won’t seek reelection in 2024: She is nothing if not on-brand.

Sinema has spent her time in the Senate as a kind of media enigma, seeking attention any way she could find it while keeping most media outlets at arms’ length. Sure, she’d sit for a New York Times profile, but she approached most of the media on her own terms — nothing wrong with that, unless you needed information.

So her announcement by way of social media on Super Tuesday was perfect, a real Sinema move. It guaranteed the least possible amount of coverage — though all the cable news networks broke in to report it, they soon went back to the niceties of what amounts to an hourslong pregame show before the polls close in all the states holding primaries.

Fox News thought Sinema bowing out was good for Kari Lake

Of course, that doesn’t mean no coverage. Arizona is one of the states likely to decide which party will control the U.S. Senate. So the news couldn’t be ignored.

The reactions were about what you’d expect. On Fox News it was good news for Kari Lake, the presumptive Republican candidate running for Sinema’s seat, the thinking being that her likely Democratic opponent, Ruben Gallego, is too extreme and can’t pick up Sinema’s moderate followers — a curious take at best. When you think of “extreme,” Lake’s name pops up in your head almost reflexively.

That was the take MSNBC had, more or less, not going so far as to say it was good for Gallego, but more of a “wake-up call” amid the dangers posed by Donald Trump-loving extremists like Lake. What both sides agreed on, however, was that this clarifies the race between two remaining candidates with distinct platforms and visions, neither of which is palatable to the other.

So you can see how this is going to play out for the next eight months or so.

'Pay attention to me'

Sinema was a big story from the time she took office — like, literally from the time she took office. The outfit she wore to her swearing-in made headlines. She wore what a non-fashion expert can best describe as a pink coat over a sleeveless white blouse with matching bracelet and flower-print skirt; she also wore a fur-looking thingamajig over her shoulders.

That non-fashion expert was me.

At the time it seemed like kind of a cool statement of independence. It turned out to be one of many gestures that ultimately seemed more performative than meaningful — wearing a denim vest to preside over the Senate, that kind of thing. She became a staple for “Saturday Night Live” parodies (former cast member Cecily Strong — who also did a mean Kari Lake — was spot-on in her portrayal of Sinema). When she left the Democratic Party to become an independent, “Weekend Update” co-host Colin Jost joked about the decision, accompanied by a photo of Sinema in a pink wig.

“Explained Sinema, ‘Pay attention to me,’” Jost said.

That sums things up pretty nicely.

To be fair, Sinema was willing to work with Republicans — hard-core liberals would say that’s because she basically was one. She talked about the “all-or-nothing” attitude in her announcement Tuesday: “Compromise is a dirty word. We’ve arrived at that crossroad and we chose anger and division.”

“Americans still choose to retreat further to their partisan corners," she said. "It’s all or nothing. The outcome is less important than beating the other guy."

She’s not wrong.

Sinema hasn’t said what’s next, only what isn’t. It’ll be interesting to see how public her next move is — and how she tries to control the coverage of it.

Trump's 'leading lady': How national media turned Kari Lake into a star

Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. X: @goodyk. Subscribe to the weekly movies newsletter.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Kyrsten Sinema's announcement was a final, very on-brand performance