Newly Independent out Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema may spend her free time selling bikinis, trucker hats, and high-heeled boots on Facebook Marketplace.
At least, that’s what writer Christina Cauterucci thinks after purchasing a lightly used pair of Badgley Mischka heels from a Facebook user whose name and photo seem to match Sinema’s.
Cauterucci said that the profile of the Facebook Marketplace seller includes a photo of a woman who looks like Sinema “grinning at the finish line of a running race.” The seller’s bio says that she lives in Phoenix, Arizona and the seller is also friends with a former Democratic National Committee staffer.
Plus, the “4.5-inch stilettos adorned with rhinestone-studded flower appliqués—look as if they would fit pretty well in Sinema’s wardrobe,” Cauterucci noted.
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Sinema, who has rarely mentioned her bisexuality since being elected to national office, has become infamous during her time as a senator – not only for her opposition to repealing the filibuster to help pass progressive voting reforms and LGBTQ+ civil rights protections, but also for her colorful fashions that seem to speak more to the public than the senator actually does.
The writer, who bought the heels and found them too small, said she had no actual plans to wear the shoes. Instead, her interest “rested entirely on my disbelief” that, a month leading into the very consequential national midterm elections, “one of the most influential politicians of the Biden era was spending her days… negotiating with a buyer about how to hand off a pair of strappy heels that zip up the back.”
Cauterucci found that whoever the Facebook Marketplace Sinema is, she’s a “highly rated” seller with strong customer ratings on pricing, punctuality, and communication.
The synonymously named seller is also selling items such as a $150 fitness tracker ring, a $100 pair of sunglasses that was “too big for my tiny head,” several mesh tank tops for $55, bikinis “in great condition” for up to $70, and a neon yellow trucker cap and biker gear that says “Do Epic Sh*t” alongside an image of a human skull and a butterfly.
The writer noticed that other Facebook users also left comments on the seller’s items, seeming to think she is indeed the senator.
“I didn’t vote for you but wanted to thank you for watching out for arizona. We need more folks like you,” one wrote.
Another, commenting on a listing for a racing bike, worried that the sale meant that Sinema would no longer be competing in biking and Ironman marathons. “You are not done competing are you?? I mean, keep kicking ass in Washington first, then race, right?”
The seller responded, “Never done competing! I just have a thing for new bikes.”
When asked to confirm whether the seller is, in fact, Sinema, the legislator’s spokesperson asked Cauterucci, “What is the story you’re working on about? Kyrsten’s athletic hobbies? The fact that many Ironman/triathlete competitors resale gear?”
Cauterucci noted that senators aren’t allowed to earn annual income above $29,895. Even though the Facebook Marketplace Sinema is selling higher-priced items like a $600 treadmill and a $3,500 road-bike frame, she’s likely selling most of the items at a loss, meaning that they may not count as income.
In 2021, Sen. Simena reported earning $22,964.93 as an instructor at Arizona State University.
Sinema has proven to be universally detested by Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike.
A recent poll of 1,300 likely Arizona voters, conducted by the bipartisan polling team Fabrizio Ward & Impact Research, found that the Senator’s unfavorable ratings were remarkably the same across party, age, race, and education.
“Left-wing vitriol aimed at Sinema is a gusher on the internet,” Arizona Republic columnist Phil Boas noted. “She is probably the most detested politician in the country today.”
