After Joe Biden abandoned the presidential race, the baton from the Democratic Party was picked up by his running mate, incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris. She has many important questions to answer in a very limited amount of time. One of them is the choice of the person who will go with her in the election as her vice-presidential candidate.
Political analysts are naming several potential names. They include Pennsylvania Governor John Shapiro, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and Senator Chris Murphy. But one name in particular has been coming up a lot lately. It’s about former astronaut Mark Kelly, who has been a senator from Arizona since 2020.
Who is Mark Kelly
Mark Kelly was born in 1964 in the state of New Jersey. Kelly graduated with honors from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in 1986 with a bachelor’s degree in marine engineering and navigation. He then joined the United States Navy. Mark Kelly served on the aircraft carrier Midway and took part in Operation Desert Storm, flying 39 combat missions. In total, during his career as a pilot, he flew over 5,000 hours in over 50 types of aircraft and made 375 carrier landings.
In 1996, Mark and his twin brother Scott Kelly qualified for NASA’s astronaut squadron. Kelly made his first space flight as a shuttle pilot in 2001. He subsequently flew into space three more times. Mark Kelly was appointed commander of the final flight of the shuttle Endeavour in 2011. Just a few months before the mission launch, his wife, U.S. House of Representatives member Gabrielle Giffords, was assassinated and very seriously injured. Despite this, NASA did not replace Kelly.
Shortly after returning to Earth, Kelly left NASA to help rehabilitate his spouse. Subsequently, Mark Kelly decided to try his hand at politics. In 2020, he won a by-election for the U.S. Senate from Arizona. In 2022, he was re-elected to the Senate in another election.
As well as his brother Scott, Mark Kelly is an active supporter of Ukraine. He visited Ukraine twice in 2023. Kelly also visited Ukrainian pilots training on F-16s and flew with them. He recently criticized Republican U.S. Vice Presidential nominee J.D. Vance for saying that he was going to abandon Ukraine to its fate.
Mark Kelly’s chances
What are Mark Kelly’s chances? At this time, Kamala Harris’ staff hasn’t made any announcements regarding the vice presidential nomination. Kelly himself, in response to a related question, said, “This is not about me. It’s about Donald Trump not being in the White House anymore.”
Kelly’s strengths are obvious. Pilot, veteran, astronaut, faithful spouse whose wife miraculously survived — his life story is very much like that of a classic American hero from some movie or book. Kelly is praised by his Democratic colleagues for his ability to quickly grasp complex issues, wisdom and common sense. His entry into the presidential race is clearly expected to help the Harris campaign and attract the additional votes.
But it’s not as simple as that. Some Democratic members are quite nervous about the prospect of Kelly leaving the Senate, fearing that a Republican will win a new election in Arizona and take the seat. In this case, the party risks losing its fragile control of the House. In addition, Kelly has never participated in a national election and has no relevant experience. At the same time, many Democrats point out that although losing Kelly’s Senate seat is a risk, it is fully justified in the current situation.
Either way, Kamala Harris hasn’t made her choice yet. In addition, she isn’t yet formally nominated as the Democratic candidate herself (there’s little doubt about that now, though). The vice presidential nominee is expected to be named at the Democratic Party convention, which will be held in Chicago between Aug. 19 and 22. If Kelly receives the nomination, he will become the first astronaut in history to hold such a high public office.
