Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona responds after getting passed over for vice president spot

PHOENIX – He won’t be running for vice president, but U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona said Tuesday he’d do all he can to support Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and her chosen running mate.

“Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz are going to move us forward. They’re already building a campaign to unite our country — and [wife] Gabby Giffords and I are ready to do everything we can to help them win,” Kelly said in a post on his personal X account.

Vice President @KamalaHarris and Governor @Tim_Walz are going to move us forward. They’re already building a campaign to unite our country — and @GabbyGiffords and I are ready to do everything we can to help them win.

— Captain Mark Kelly (@CaptMarkKelly) August 6, 2024

Kelly also pledged to support Harris and Walz in a new fundraising email.

“Tim has years of experience representing Minnesota both in the House of Representatives, where he served with Gabby, and as Minnesota’s governor. In that time, he has shown up time and time again for working families, and I know he’ll continue that work in the White House,” the email says.

Harris picked the Minnesota governor as her running mate Tuesday after reportedly interviewing him, Kelly and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro over the weekend.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg also were thought to be under consideration.

President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid last month and handed the baton to Harris, who has energized the party with her ascension to the top of the ticket.

Harris and Walz will hold a rally in Phoenix on Friday evening as part of a tour through seven battleground states this week.

The Democratic duo will face off against the Republican ticket of former President Donald Trump and running mate Sen. JD Vance in the Nov. 5 general election.

Why was Kelly under consideration for vice president spot?

Kelly was a finalist for the VP spot for several reasons.

Politically, he is generally considered a moderate Democrat, which would have helped mitigate GOP accusations that Harris is a liberal extremist.

He’s repeatedly pushed the Biden-Harris administration for stronger border security measures, which could have helped shore up a perceived area of weakness for the presidential nominee.

On top of that, Arizona is a key battleground in this year’s election. Kelly’s presence on the ticket could have helped keep the Grand Canyon State’s 11 Electoral College votes in the blue column.

Arizona Democrat won’t be leaving Senate seat for White House

Democrats now won’t have to worry about defending Kelly’s Senate seat in two years.

Kelly is entrenched in Congress as a member of the Armed Services, Environment and Public Works, Intelligence, Aging, and Joint Economic committees. He also chairs the Senate Armed Services Airland Subcommittee.

If he’d have become vice president, Gov. Katie Hobbs would have appointed a Democrat to fill the office until a special election in 2026.

The special election winner would have served the rest of Kelly’s term, which runs through 2028.

Who is Mark Kelly?

Kelly has been married to Giffords, the former Democratic congresswoman who was seriously wounded in a 2011 shooting in her southern Arizona district, since 2007. Kelly has two adult daughters from a previous marriage.

The former former Navy pilot and astronaut made his first foray into politics in 2020, when he successfully ran for Senate in a special election to fill the seat once held by the late John McCain. He defeated Republican Marth McSally that year.

Kelly won a full term in 2022, when he beat Republican Blake Masters in the general election.

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