PHOENIX — The latest shakeup in the presidential race could be of astronomical proportions.
Well, kind of. Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, a former astronaut and Navy veteran, is considered one of the top choices to be Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate after President Biden announced he’s bowing out of the race.
And he could help the Democratic ticket with one of its top problems — voters’ view of the administration’s handling of the border.
The Harris campaign has reportedly sent Kelly vetting paperwork — along with others including Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.
Picking either pol would be an attempt to boost Harris’ chances in his respective swing state: Winning Arizona buys a nominee 11 electoral votes and Pennsylvania 19.
The speculation of Mark Kelly being on the Democratic ticket didn’t just fall out of a coconut tree, though — it’s come in the context of years of supporters wanting him to pursue higher office.
Reports even floated his name as a potential presidential nominee before Biden exited the race.
Kelly’s social-media activity indicates he knows he’s in the running — and is interested in the spot.
A video posted to one of his official accounts Tuesday highlighted his military background, linking to an interview he participated in this month.
“I couldn’t be more confident that Vice President [Kamala Harris] 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,” he tweeted from his campaign account Sunday afternoon, shortly after Biden endorsed Harris as his successor.
His wife is former Rep. Gabby Giffords, who was shot in Tucson in 2011 and now runs a progressive firearm-policy group simply dubbed “Giffords.”
Kelly was first elected to the Senate in 2020 after defeating former Republican Sen. Martha McSally, who was appointed to the seat by former Republican Gov. Doug Ducey after Sen. John McCain’s death in 2018.
The seat was briefly held by former Sen. Jon Kyl immediately following McCain’s passing.
The Democrat won re-election in 2022 after defeating Republican Blake Masters by 125,719 votes.
If Kelly is the pick, he may also use a similar playbook with vice-presidential nominee Sen. J.D. Vance — as both Republicans are considered close allies of technology billionaire Peter Thiel.
While the pick could boost the ticket’s odds in Arizona, the numbers show it’s still an uphill battle.
There’s been little polling done on a Trump vs. Harris matchup in Arizona and nothing notable out since the Biden dropout, but the Republican has a 7% average lead based on recent polling, per The Hill.
Although Kelly has largely been a supporter of the Biden-Harris administration, he’s also been an occasional critic when it comes to border policies, especially when the crisis started in 2021 and through Kelly’s 2022 re-election bid.
“When the president decided he was going to do something dumb on this and change the rules that would create a bigger crisis, I told him he was wrong. So I pushed back on this administration multiple times,” Kelly said in a debate that year.
Harris has already begun taking flak from Trump on the border issue, which polls have consistently found is one of voters’ top concerns this election.
“Lyin’ Kamala Harris, the Biden appointed ‘Border Czar’ who never visited the Border, and whose incompetence gave us the WORST and MOST DANGEROUS Border anywhere in the World, has absolutely terrible pole numbers against a fine and brilliant young man named DONALD J. TRUMP! Be careful what you wish for, Democrats???” he posted Monday to Truth Social.
If Harris wins the presidency with Kelly beside her, the competitive Senate seat would then be open once again, which would trigger an appointment by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs and a special election in 2026.
This could make for eight consecutive Senate races in Arizona from 2016 to 2030 between both seats, as there would be a full-term election in 2028 and a likely re-election campaign in 2030.
Republican Kari Lake and Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego are battling it out this year for outgoing independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s seat.
