'What I believe is right for my state ... for the country': Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is leaving Democratic Party

Republicans may have missed an opportunity to pick up a U.S. Senate seat in Georgia this week, but Democrats will soon be missing a senator.

Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has announced that she is leaving the Democratic Party, driven out by "extreme voices" driving the party "toward the fringes."

Rather than caucus with Republicans, Sinema, who started out with the Green Party, is registering as an independent — a move that will not bereave Democrats of their majority, but may nevertheless change certain dynamics in the Senate.

Sinema posted a video to Twitter on Friday, noting that she has "joined the growing numbers of Arizonans who reject party politics by declaring my independence from the broken partisan system in Washington and formally registering as an Arizona Independent."

The prospective independent penned an op-ed in the Arizona Republic, saying, "There’s a disconnect between what everyday Americans want and deserve from our politics, and what political parties are offering."