Rep. Kyrsten Sinema announces U.S. Senate run

PHOENIX (KSAZ) - Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema, who represents Arizona's 9th Congressional District, has announced run for the U.S. Senate.

The Democratic congresswoman, whose Congressional district encompasses parts of Phoenix and the East Valley, uploaded a cover photo that announced her Senate run to her verified Facebook page, Thursday afternoon.

(Can't see the photo? Click here)

The campaign announcement was also posted to YouTube. While the video is unlisted on the video site, it is viewable from her campaign website. In the video, Sinema said she's running for the Senate, because she wants to help people and because she's "not giving up on the American dream."

(Can't see the video? Click here)

Sinema has already been targeted by attack tweets on Twitter. Tweets made on the verified Twitter account for Jeff Flake's Senate campaign called Sinema a "radical progressive" who is "out of touch" with Arizona, and claims she has a "record of radicalism", and also claims Sinema is a "self described Prada Socialist".

(Can't see the tweets? Are the tweets deleted? Click here)

Sinema will have to face off Democrat Deedra Abboud, before the general election.

Before her time in Congress, Sinema ran for the State House of Representatives in 2002, coming in 5th in a field of five candidates that saw Democrats Ken Clark and Wally Straughn elected. Sinema ran in the same district in 2004, and managed to win a seat, along with Democrat David Lujan.

In 2010, Sinema ran a successful campaign for the State Senate, and ran a successful campaign for her current Congressional seat in 2012, defeating Republican Vernon Parker. According to the Associated Press, Sinema is the first openly bisexual member of Congress.

The Associated Press (AP) contributed to this report.