Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly is reportedly being considered to be Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate in the 2024 presidential election.
Kelly, a 60-year-old former astronaut and U.S. Navy captain, has represented Arizona in the U.S. Senate since 2020.
Kelly was elected to the Senate in a 2020 special election that took place after the death of longtime Republican Sen. John McCain in 2018, defeating incumbent Republican Sen. Martha McSally.
A native of Orange, New Jersey, Kelly graduated from the United States Merchant Marine Academy in 1986. He then attended the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, where he earned a master’s degree in aeronautical engineering in 1994.
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Senator Mark Kelly, Democrat of Arizona, speaks to reporters on July 25, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
Kelly became a naval aviator in 1987 and was assigned to Attack Squadron 115 in Japan. He completed two deployments and flew nearly 40 combat missions in support of Operation Desert Storm.
He received numerous honors for his military service and retired from the Navy in October 2011. At the time, he wrote in a social media post: “From the day I entered the United States Merchant Marine Academy in the summer of 1982 to the moment I landed aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour three weeks ago, I have had the privilege of advancing the ideals that define the United States of America.”
Along with his twin brother, Scott Kelly, he was selected by NASA to serve as a space shuttle pilot in 1996.
Kelly, who made numerous trips beyond Earth’s atmosphere during his illustrious career as an astronaut, is believed to have spent more than 54 days in space.
Kelly, an independent who became a Democrat in 2018, is the husband of former Rep. Gabby Giffords, a Democrat from Arizona, whom he married in 2007.
After the attempted assassination of Giffords in 2012, Kelly stepped back from public life to help his wife recover.
He is also the author of several books, including one co-authored with Giffords in 2012 titled “Enough: Our Fight to Keep America Safe from Gun Violence.”
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Vice President Kamala Harris prepares to swear in Democratic Senator Mark Kelly, with his wife Gabrielle Giffords, center, in the Old Senate Chamber for the swearing-in ceremony, January 3, 2023, in Washington, DC (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
In January 2013, Kelly and Giffords launched a political action committee called Americans for Responsible Solutions. The organization’s mission was to promote what it saw as solutions to gun violence to elected lawmakers and members of the public.
He was re-elected to the Senate in November 2022, defeating Republican candidate Blake Masters.
Kelly is not the first astronaut to be elected to Congress. Other astronauts elected include John Glenn, Harrison Schmitt and Jack Swigert.
He is seen by many political strategists, mostly Democrats, as a safe choice for Harris as she considers who will run alongside her on the November ballot.
Three days after President Biden announced his decision to withdraw from the 2024 White House race, Kelly took questions from reporters in the halls of the U.S. Capitol, where he was asked if he would accept the vice presidential nomination.
“This is not about me. This is about the future of this country,” Kelly said at the time.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at her presidential campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, on July 22, 2024. (Erin Schaff/Pool via REUTERS)
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“It’s a choice between Kamala Harris, who is an experienced prosecutor, vice president, U.S. senator, attorney general (of California), and a man who is a convicted felon,” Kelly added.
Kelly also predicted, after Biden withdrew, that Harris was “going to win” the state of Arizona in the 2024 election.
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