Republican state official faces pushback for comments on Sinema’s attire

Alabama state Auditor Jim Ziegler (R) is facing pushback over a post he shared on Facebook over the weekend discussing Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s (D-Ariz.) attire.

Ziegler shared photos of the Arizona Democrat donning a dress and tall boots while on the Senate floor last week with the headline: “What newly elected AZ democrat senator Kyrsten Sinema wore to work.”

The post prompted heated discussion from commenters, many of whom slammed the Republican and accused him of shaming Sinema for her attire. 

{mosads}According to AL.com, Ziegler also wrote that Sinema “took the floor improperly attired” in an earlier version of the post. However, that phrasing was later removed from the post. 

Ziegler also took a shot at Democratic Alabama Sen. Doug Jones, who he wrote “accompanied” Sinema on the floor, saying that he could be thinking about running for the Senate seat himself next year.

“He represents these out-of-state senators instead of us, the people of Alabama,” Ziegler said in the Facebook post. “Can you see him? I am exploring running against him next year.”

Ziegler later told AL.com that he intended to draw attention to Jones with the controversial post and not Sinema. 

“The wording of my post was Doug Jones does not represent the people of Alabama,” he said. “He represents the out-of-state senators. And I’ll continue to draw that distinction.”

AL.com reports that Ziegler has a reputation for making controversial comments and previously captured headlines in 2016 when he compared alleged relationships Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore had with teen girls to the biblical story of Mary and Joseph’s marriage. 

Sinema’s office did not immediately return a request for comment from The Hill.