Sen. Kyrsten Sinema broke with most of her Democratic colleagues in the Senate Tuesday, voting against the "Green New Deal" environmental legislative ideas favored by many in her party's left flank.

For Sinema, D-Ariz., it was one of the most prominent splits from her fellow Democrats since she joined the Senate in January.

Most Senate Democrats voted "present" to avoid taking a position on a proposal that some could find difficult to defend in next year's elections.

"We need to address a changing climate with realistic, achievable solutions," she said in a statement. "Congress should stop the political games and work together on practical solutions that foster a healthy environment, grow our economy, and help Arizona families get ahead."

She co-sponsored a separate Senate resolution that says climate change is real and requires action to address what she characterized as a "crisis."

The Green New Deal resolution, which wasn't in final legislative language and has not had any committee hearings, failed to advance in the Senate, with 57 votes against it and no one voting for it.

Republicans are hoping to use the issue as a way to cast Democrats as eager to take radical steps that would damage the economy.

Democrats see the Green New Deal as a still-evolving mix of ideas intended to rein in carbon emissions that contribute to climate change and overhaul government job-creation programs to encourage employment in environmentally sustainable fields.

Sen. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., who faces voters next year in her bid to keep her seat for another two years, also voted against the Green New Deal resolution.

"We must find serious solutions to protect the environment and taxpayers. The Green New Deal is a pipe dream that would bankrupt hardworking Arizona families," she said in a written statement. "I look forward to working on bipartisan solutions that protect our beautiful outdoors without hurting families."

McSally likely will face Democrat Mark Kelly, a retired astronaut who has made combating climate change a central policy concern of his 2020 Senate campaign. Kelly has not taken a position on the Green New Deal and has repeatedly declined to comment about it.

Asked how Kelly would have voted, Kelly's spokesman, Jacob Peters, again sidestepped the question.

"This vote was pure politics and the worst of Washington," Peters said in a written statement to The Arizona Republic. "As an engineer and astronaut who has seen the planet change from space, Mark wants to solve problems — not play games — and that’s what Arizonans expect from their Senators."

The debate in Washington, so far at least, has both parties warning against extreme outcomes.

Democrats, relying on scientific models, have said the earth is approaching a tipping point in which some of the worst long-term effects cannot be averted without significant steps to bring down carbon emissions.

Republicans counter that the Democratic plans would lead to absurd steps, such as banning cows and airplane travel at budget-busting prices.

In the House of Representatives, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has helped take the lead on shaping the legislative ideas and has accused Republicans of ignoring a planetary crisis.

With the Green New Deal, "legislators, experts, & advocates have spent countless hours poring over details of industrial policy+impact of global temp/sea (level) projections," she wrote in a tweet. "That’s what you do when you take your job seriously + respect the chamber."

Reach the reporter Ronald J. Hansen at ronald.hansen@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4493. Follow him on Twitter @ronaldjhansen.

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