![Mark Kelly](https://indianz.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/05/markkelly.jpg)
Most of the options on her list are white men. Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Phoenix, who is running for U.S. Senate to replace Independent Kyrsten Sinema, told CNN that Kelly would represent exactly the sort of “jolt” Harris needs. Kelly endorsed Harris on July 21, roughly two hours after President Joe Biden announced he was dropping his reelection bid and endorsing his vice president. Kelly called her the “right person to defeat Donald Trump.”
Biden and Harris carried Arizona by just over 10,000 votes in 2020. Trump has led in recent polls and has been pulling further ahead in a state that Democrats can ill afford to lose. Kelly won his own 2020 contest by about 80,000 votes, defeating appointed GOP Sen. Martha McSally. In 2022, he beat challenger Blake Masters – a Trump acolyte like the newly minted GOP nominee for vice president, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance – by about 125,000 votes. “The path through 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,” Arizona Democratic Party Chair Yolanda Bejarano said, announcing the endorsement of Kelly by the state party’s executive board. “Senator Kelly is exactly the type of leader Arizonans want, and America needs.” Democrats hope to shore up support for Harris in the Sun Belt, and Kelly’s success in Arizona gives strategists comfort that he would be an asset, not only in his home state, but perhaps in neighboring Nevada, too. They see his military roots playing well in Georgia. He grew up in New Jersey and also has called Texas home. Gallego called the Harris-Kelly combination “the best ticket.”I couldn’t be more confident that Vice President @KamalaHarris is the right person to defeat Donald Trump and lead our country into the future. She has my support for the nomination, and Gabby and I will do everything we can to elect her President of the United States. 🇺🇸
— Captain Mark Kelly (@CaptMarkKelly) July 21, 2024
“He’s a border state senator, understands border issues, is an astronaut, married to Gabby Giffords. It’s all a good combination right there,” he told CNN. Kelly is 60 – eight months older than Harris, who is 59. Both are a generation younger than Trump and a generation older than Vance. He’s a former astronaut and Navy combat pilot – a credential that could appeal to veterans, a demographic the Biden campaign started targeting in early July. Kelly was more bipartisan than all but 23 other senators in 2023, according to rankings by the Lugar Center and the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University. He has worked closely with Sinema and Joe Manchin of West Virginia – both former Democrats – taking the moderate lane and showing bipartisanship, particularly on less controversial issues like infrastructure and energy. The centrist ties cut both ways, potentially hurting Kelly’s prospects among progressives in Harris’ base while also giving her a chance to broaden her appeal in November. Kelly’s fundraising acumen could be an asset in what is shaping up to be the most expensive election cycle ever. Harris raised $100 million in the first 48 hours since she announced her candidacy. Kelly raised nearly that much in his 2020 campaign, an impressive sum for a Senate contest. NBC News and other outlets have reported that Harris’ campaign team has requested vetting materials from five potential running mates. Apart from Kelly, the list includes three swing state governors – Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Roy Cooper of North Carolina and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan – and Tim Walz of Minnesota, which has been solidly Democratic for decades in presidential contests.Rep. Ruben Gallego, running for Senate in Arizona, pushes for fellow Arizonan Mark Kelly to be Kamala Harris' running mate, saying it would give a "jolt" to ticket.
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) July 24, 2024
"He's a border state senator .. is an astronaut, married to Gabby Giffords. It's all kind of a good combination." pic.twitter.com/FC8OomgAri
![Mark Kelly, Jamescita Peshlakai and Gabby Giffords](https://indianz.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/05/markkellyjamescitapeshlakaigabbygiffords.jpg)
Banning bump stocks is common sense. They make semi-automatic guns even deadlier, and as a gun owner and someone who knows personally the damage a gun can do, I will always support efforts to protect Americans from the most dangerous weapons and devices.
— Senator Mark Kelly (@SenMarkKelly) June 18, 2024
Note: This story originally appeared on Cronkite News. It is published via a Creative Commons license. Cronkite News is produced by the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.
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