Retired Astronaut and Husband of Congresswoman Gabby Giffords Announces Senate Run
Retired astronaut Mark Kelly, who rocketed to the national spotlight when his Congresswoman wife Gabrielle Giffords was shot in a failed assassination attempt, announced Tuesday he’s running to finish John McCain’s last term in the U.S. Senate.
Kelly is a top Democratic recruit to take on Republican Sen. Martha McSally in one of the most closely contested Senate races of the 2020 election.
McSally is a former Republican congresswoman who was appointed to McCain’s seat last year after she narrowly lost to Democrat Kyrsten Sinema.
McSally leaned heavily on her record as the first woman to fly a combat mission as a fighter pilot.
If Kelly is nominated, the race would pit a Navy veteran and astronaut against a trailblazing Air Force pilot in the contest to replace McCain, a legendary Navy flyer who was famously shot down and held captive.
I learned a lot from being an astronaut and a combat pilot. I learned a lot about solving problems from being an engineer. But what I learned from my wife, @GabbyGiffords, is how you use policy to improve people’s lives.#FullSpeedAhead #ForArizonahttps://t.co/x94NukAYOQ
— Mark Kelly (@ShuttleCDRKelly) February 12, 2019
Democrats are eagerly watching the Arizona contest, having already defeated McSally in a Senate race just a few months ago.
Kelly and Giffords have for years pushed Congress to enact gun control measures with little success.
They shifted their focus to state legislatures in recent years, helping to strengthen background checks and domestic violence protections, among other modest protections.
Gov. Doug Ducey appointed McSally to the vacant Senate seat after his first appointee, former Sen. Jon Kyl, resigned after only a few months in office.
The seat is a top target for Democrats because McSally just lost a Senate race in November and Democrats posted a strong showing in the November election, winning three statewide contests and picking up legislative and congressional seats.
The 2020 election will decide who finishes the last two years of McCain’s term.
The winner would have to run again for a full six-year term in 2022.
I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’m looking seriously at running for the U.S. Senate in 2020, and that hasn’t changed. I’ll be making a final decision and announcement soon. #AZSEN
— Ruben Gallego (@RubenGallego) February 12, 2019
U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego of Phoenix is also considering a Senate run, which would likely set up a tough fight for the Democratic nomination.
Former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods, a lifelong Republican who became a Democrat and a fierce critic of Trump, announced last week that he won’t run, saying he didn’t want to fight in a contested Democratic primary.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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