Sen. Mark Kelly says he has timeline for presidential decision but is not ready to share it

With the 2026 midterm election season winding down, the political calendar is turning to presidential candidate speculation season.

With that change, Arizona U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly is again answering questions about a possible White House run in 2028.

Kelly was asked about his presidential aspirations over the weekend during Crooked Con, an annual event hosted by Crooked Media, a company founded by former Obama administration staffers.

“I am thinking about it,” Kelly said at the event in Washington, according to CNN politics reporter Patrick Svitek.

Kelly said he has a timeline in mind for his decision but declined to reveal it. He also said he has been discussing the issue with his family.

“We’ve had conversations; we’re going to continue to have them,” he said.

Sen. Mark Kelly has been thinking about presidential run for a while

Kelly has acknowledged on several occasions that he is considering a presidential run.

In fact, the question came up while results were coming in on Election Day.

“We need to get on the other side of this, and I need to spend a little time reflecting — am I the right person for this?” he told KTAR News 92.3 FM during a Democratic watch party in Phoenix.

In August, he told KTAR News he was discussing it with his wife, former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

“She would have to be supportive. And she is. I mean, she understands the stakes here for this country,” he said. “We gotta make sure we’ve got, whether it’s me or somebody else, somebody in the White House that puts the American people first.”

In July, he told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” he was waiting until after the midterm elections to decide.

Kelly, a retired U.S. Navy captain and NASA astronaut, started discussing a possible presidential run after the Pentagon moved to demote him for telling service members they have a duty to refuse illegal orders in a November 2025 video with five other Democratic lawmakers.

In January, Kelly responded by suing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for violating his First Amendment right to free speech.

2028 Democratic presidential field could be crowded

Kelly will be up for reelection in 2028, so Democrats would have to find a new candidate to defend his Senate seat if he seeks a different office.

Meanwhile, fellow Arizona Democratic U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego has also been thinking about running for president.

“There’s only a couple of Democrats that are thinking of running for president that have won red states. I’m one of them,” Gallego told KTAR News’ Outspoken with Bruce & Gaydos in July. “There’s only a couple of Democrats who can speak to working-class Democrats, especially Latino men. I’m one of them.”

The Democratic primary field could be crowded in two years. The early speculative list of candidates includes 2024 nominee and former Vice President Kamala Harris, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and many others.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Heidi Hommel contributed to this report.

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