Mark Kelly, retired astronaut and husband of Gabby Giffords, announces run for US Senate
Source: ABC 15
Mark Kelly, the retired astronaut and husband of former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, is running for late John McCain's Senate seat.
A video was posted on Kelly's website Tuesday, showing that his run for Senate in Arizona is his "next mission."
In addition to being a NASA astronaut, Kelly was also a U.S. Navy Combat pilot and engineer.
Kelly is a top Democratic recruit to challenge Republican Sen. Martha McSally, who was appointed to the seat late last year. The race is widely expected to be one of the most closely contested Senate races of the 2020 election.
Read more: https://www.abc15.com/news/state/mark-kelly-announces-run-for-us-senate
handmade34
(22,759 posts)Guilded Lilly
(5,591 posts)Ohiogal
(32,196 posts)I'd vote for him in a heartbeat. I heard him speak last fall at Youngstown State and he had Gabby with him. He's very inspiring and I think he would make a fantastic Senator.
rickmoen
(23 posts)and I will!
Haggis for Breakfast
(6,831 posts)Good to hear that Mark has your support, too.
oldsoftie
(12,674 posts)vsrazdem
(2,177 posts)beachbum bob
(10,437 posts)of an assassination attempt....he can have draw votes from typical gop leaning voters AND is the GOP's worse nightmare to go up against as all they can do is attack Gabby
we need same level of candidate in Maine to rid our country of Susan Collins
calimary
(81,608 posts)Finally getting rid of Susan Collins. That would be fantastic!
NewJeffCT
(56,829 posts)Susan Rice - yes, that Susan Rice - is considering challenging Collins.
beachbum bob
(10,437 posts)NewJeffCT
(56,829 posts)Rice's family has a home in Maine and she has an honorary degree from Bowdoin in Maine, but she would need to move there very soon in order to semi-legitimately call herself a resident. Not sure how feasible that is for her?
BootinUp
(47,222 posts)zaj
(3,433 posts)DarthDem
(5,258 posts)This is a huge get and so early in the cycle, too!!! I absolutely think he'll be favored to win. Great news!!!!!
onetexan
(13,081 posts)Apollyonus
(812 posts)flygal
(3,231 posts)Corgigal
(9,291 posts)A courageous man, who loves his wife.
The un-Trump.
justie18
(169 posts)I am beyond thrilled with this announcement. We have been waiting for him to run for some years now. Could not be a better candidate to run for Senate here in Arizona.
badhair77
(4,227 posts)Please let there be others with some sense and leadership abilities.
ZeroSomeBrains
(638 posts)Having an astronaut become a US Senator would be better than a science-denying Republican Marthy McSally. I can't wait to see him run.
Dopers_Greed
(2,640 posts)Hopefully another blue seat
groundloop
(11,537 posts)I think this is an excellent opportunity, both for the Democratic Party and the people of Arizona.
Lonestarblue
(10,170 posts)We need to pick up at least four seats to retake control of the Senate. We will most likely lose the Doug Jones seat in Alabama because the next Republican candidate will not be as weak as Roy Moore. The 2020 Senate election is not a slam dunk for Democrats, but we really need to have a majority if we are to get anything done, including appointing another SC justice should the need arise. Of course, the presidency is also a must, along with keeping the House!
Control of the Senate is one reason I do not support Sherrod Brown. He would be a fine candidate, but he would be replaced by a Republican and we have an equally good midwestern candidate in Amy Klobuchar. Strong Democratic candidates might be able to win the seats held by Cory Gardner in Colorado and Susan Collins in Maine. Assuming Kelly wins, thats three. But with the likely loss of Doug Jones, where do we get at least one more and preferably two? John Cornyn is up for re-election here in Texas, but even Beto would have a tough time defeating him and theres no one else here who could. The major cities here are blue (except for Fort Worth), but rural Texas is still ruby red.
Heres a chart from Fivethirtyeight that is pretty sobering, but Ill support any candidte to ensure we win!
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-senate-will-be-competitive-again-in-2020-but-republicans-are-favored/
DarthDem
(5,258 posts)Stacey Abrams in Georgia.
Many strong possible candidates in Iowa.
Many really good candidates in North Carolina.
Governor Bullock in Montana. (He will take some convincing.)
Whoever runs in Kansas for the open seat - because I think Kobach will run for the GOP and he's toxic.
Beto can beat Cornyn but I don't think he will run for the seat.
Meanwhile, you'll hear a lot of downbeat predictions that Jeanne Shaheen will be in trouble in NH, but she won't be. Democrats' only problem is the Alabama seat. If they lose that, it will be 54-46 and they need to win AZ, CO, ME and one of the others above, plus the vice presidency. It's actually far from a heavy lift.
And because the Democrats will be on offense, they won't have to spend much money on defense, and they'll be in excellent shape in that regard.
lark
(23,199 posts)Go Mark Kelly go!!
Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)DrToast
(6,414 posts)I love it!
hibbing
(10,114 posts)LittleGirl
(8,292 posts)I am thrilled. I just wished I could campaign with him but living abroad makes that difficult!
yay
bearsfootball516
(6,378 posts)LongtimeAZDem
(4,494 posts)if he does, he'll lose.
He needs to make it about health care and education; that's what killed McSalley.
ChazII
(6,207 posts)I think you are correct.
Haggis for Breakfast
(6,831 posts)WHO has more right to run on gun control ?
DFW
(54,506 posts)They never said they were for seizure, just sensible restrictions, just like car ownership.
Gabby got re-elected in AZ when she ran, so I don't think a Republican can try to blast them on this issue. What is a Republican going to do, tell Gabby that she is exaggerating the danger of guns in the hands of crazy people? I don't think that one will fly, even in Arizona.
I'm definitely liking this candidacy. I'm not unbiased or anything, you understand........
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Cha
(298,077 posts)clearing that up about the guns.
DFW
(54,506 posts)We had rung in the New Year of 2011 together with some friends at a large gathering in South Carolina, and had planned to have dinner together in Washington two weeks later. On January 8th that year, a Saturday, I took a morning plane from New York City to Dallas, where i had some routine stuff to do before heading on up to D.C. In the taxi to the house, I booted up the laptop for the latest news, and was just dumbstruck. I didn't think it was a mistake, but didn't want to believe it, either. Confirmation was, alas, not long in coming.
When I next saw her, it was just after Christmas, 2013, and I had no idea if she would even remember who I was. That was no minor brain injury she had sustained. I needen't have worried. When she saw me coming from across the room, she let out a squeal of delight and reached out for me with her one good arm. She may be imprisoned inside her gunshot-caused disability, but inside there, it's still her. Just an amazing woman.
Cha
(298,077 posts)Gabby story! We're all so grateful she pulled through, and has this incredible, activist life with her husband, Mark.. and her friends.
LongtimeAZDem
(4,494 posts)but if he actually comes out and advocates banning semi-automatics, he'll lose by 5 points, maybe 10.
Gabby won in a pretty liberal district, and she's well liked, but you're underestimating her political strength on this issue. Gun control is the third rail of Arizona politics, and she's the poster child for the "coming to get your guns" crowd.
Kelly is a good candidate; he can beat McSally on the veteran angle, and he can really promote a positive message. But, he has to find a way to distance himself from the gun issue.
DFW
(54,506 posts)There will be people who know the political lay of the land well enough to advise him on what to emphasize and what to soft-peddle. Where Gabby may be a symbol to the anti-gun-control crowd, Mark symbolizes "the right stuff" as a U.S. Navy Captain and astronaut. He can certainly put up a "you got a problem with that?" in-your-face defense to anyone trying to put his credentials down.
He also happens to be a hell of a personable guy, and though in the past, he let Gabby take the limelight, he can certainly hold his own when the camera is on him.
LongtimeAZDem
(4,494 posts)of Arizona politics is what it is. If he runs on gun control, he'll massively boost Republican turnout, lose most independents, and alienate a good number of Democrats.
On a positive note, here's my favorite picture of them, watching the shuttle fly over:
It was my Facebook banner for a while
grantcart
(53,061 posts)AlexSFCA
(6,139 posts)McSally already lost once to Sinema and this fella seems even more competitive.
pandr32
(11,644 posts)The Wizard
(12,556 posts)to take a seat from the radical, rabid, right wing, reactionary, Repubic Party.
healthnut7
(249 posts)Good for him, I'm sure he will be fantastic!!
BumRushDaShow
(130,043 posts)CTyankee
(63,926 posts)I pick it up on youtube...