Mark Kelly speaks to supporters during the Election Night event at Hotel Congress on Nov. 3, 2020, in Tucson. Photo by Courtney Pedroza | Getty Images
The Arizona Democratic Party on Wednesday formally endorsed U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly to be the running mate for Vice President Kamala Harris, who is expected to become the Democratic nominee for president next month.
“Senator Kelly has been a champion for Arizonans, engaging them in the path towards building a better Arizona and creating a strong and diverse coalition along the way. Senator Kelly is exactly the type of leader Arizonans want and America needs,” Arizona Democratic Party Chairwoman Yolanda Bejarano said in a written statement. “The path to the White House runs through Arizona, and we are confident that with Kamala Harris and Mark Kelly at the top of the ticket, Democrats will win in November.”
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Harris, who only entered the race for president five days ago when President Joe Biden abruptly ended his reelection campaign amid deep fears among Democrats that he had no viable way to defeat Donald Trump in November, is expected to name a running mate shortly. She has already secured the support of enough delegates to ensure she will become the party’s nominee at the Democratic National Convention next month in Chicago.
Kelly is one of five Democratic elected officials that Harris’ campaign has asked to provide vetting materials, placing him on the short list of potential VP picks. The others are North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
Kelly is a former astronaut and U.S. Navy captain who is in his first full term as a senator. He has been representing Arizona in the U.S. Senate since 2020, when he won a special election to finish out the term that the late John McCain was elected to serve in 2016, defeating Republican Martha McSally, a congresswoman who was appointed to the seat in 2019. Kelly then won re-election in 2022 to a full six-year term.
The Arizona senator is married to former Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who was shot in an assassination attempt in Tucson in 2011. Six people died during the attack and Giffords was shot in the head, leading to her being in a medically induced coma while she recovered.
Giffords and Kelly founded the nonprofit Americans for Responsible Solutions, which campaigned for gun control measures such as universal background checks and red flag laws. The nonprofit has since changed its name to Giffords.
Kelly left NASA and the Navy in 2011, citing Giffords’ needs during her recovery from the shooting. He is the fourth retired astronaut to be elected to Congress.
He has positioned himself as a moderate Democrat and has even criticized President Joe Biden on the border, though he has voted in line with Biden positions 94.5% of the time.
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