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Meet Mark Kelly, the top Kamala Harris VP contender and 'national hero' whose record on a vital issue is key for the 2024 presidential election
Mark Kelly was a public figure but by no stretch a politician when a deranged gunman shot his wife Rep. Gabby Giffords in the head while she was meeting with constituents in a supermarket parking lot.
Now, leading Democrats and even some Republicans say he is a natural choice to be Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate, citing his background as a naval aviator and an astronaut and as someone who summoned the horrifying family tragedy to push for gun control and reducing gun violence.
'What I know is that he and Gabby are really close, and it’s very touching to me how much he’s embraced the cause that she has championed,' said Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), who knows Giffords from his time in the House and who was the first senator to publicly call on Joe Biden to step back from his presidential campaign.
'It’s just a very moving story of a loving couple turning their tragedy into hope for so many people,' he told DailyMail.com, calling it 'inspiring.'
After an initial flurry of reports about a handful of centrist governors who might help carry Harris to victory in a battleground state, Kelly has risen to be a leading prospect who might help Harris shore up political weaknesses on the border while getting a lift from his inspiration biography.
'The guy’s done more days of active military service than anybody in Congress. He’s got two Distinguished Flying Crosses. He’s been vetted by life beyond what most people could ever imagine. He’s the closest thing we’ve got to a national hero,' said Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), another booster.
Ready to rise? Sen. Mark Kelly is on VP Kamala Harris' short list for vice president. He spent a total 54 days in space, and has pushed to secure the southern border
'The guy doesn’t play politics. But he knows more about the ships and the planes and the armaments we use to defend our country than anybody in Congress, to my knowledge. Everything he’s done has been in service of his country,' he added.
At a time when potential picks have been hogging the airwaves – Kelly took to the airwaves to defend Harris and rip Trump Wednesday – Kelly's low-key approach could provide assurances that the astronaut won't outshine Harris.
'He doesn’t go out and beat his chest. You don’t see him doing the talk show circuit. He’s a public servant. And the nice thing about him, if I was looking at Vice President Harris’ point of view, he doesn’t’ need a lot of oxygen. He doesn’t need to take up a lot of space. It’s going to be the president there who’s going to be the real leader of this country. And he’s going to be a partner for her [if chosen]. But my God, what a good partner he’d be,' Hickenlooper added.
The data points on his resume inside and outside of politics were enough to vault Kelly onto a short list that includes governors who could help deliver battleground states (Donald Trump holds a narrow poll lead in Arizona, which Biden won in 2020).
- He flew 39 combat missions in Operation Desert Storm as a Navy pilot.
- He was awarded two Distinguished Flying Crosses.
- He traveled to space four times as an astronaut, spending 54 days high above earth.
- He piloted the space shuttle Endeavor, lived aboard the International Space Station, and even flew aboard a Russian rocket.
- Kelly, 60, took part in a NASA twins study along with his brother Scott.
Kelly entered politics after his wife Gabby Giffords was shot while meeting with Arizona constituents
Harris has travel planned for next week with her running mate, and is considering swing state governors
Vice presidential immunity: Kelly and his twin Scott Kelly (above) took part in a NASA twins study while Scott Kelly was in the international space station. Here Scott Kelly gets a flu shot
The Trump camp continues to lob criticism at Kamala Harris over border intrusions
Kelly served in Operation Desert Storm and was awarded two Distinguished Flying Crosses before taking part in four space shuttle missions. He’s the closest thing we’ve got to a national hero,' said Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.)
And he has occasionally taken on the Biden administration by calling for tough action at the border, where his state receives a regular influx of migrants making illegal crossings from Mexico.
That gives him the opportunity to help compensate for a top weakness of Harris, who Republicans continue to blast for her effort as 'border tsar' who failed to step a migrant influx.
His appeal even earns him plaudits from Republicans in the clubby Senate. 'I know Mark. He's a good guy. I like him. I mean he's got one of the most incredible stories you could have,' said South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham.
'I think he's got a unique resume. He'd be a tough pick,' said Graham, who has traveled with Kelly.
Elected in 2020 to fill the seat vacated by Sen. John McCain, a war hero known for taking on his party at times, Kelly has made frequent visits to the border and pushed the Biden administration to fill gaps in the border wall.
An Armed Services Committee member, he is accustomed to speaking on some of the global issues that could trip up a governor on the debate stage, at a time when there are feast of an expanding war in the Middle East.
When it comes time to vetting – at a time when comments by Republican Sen. J.D. Vance keep coming back to cause headaches – the former astronaut has been poked and prodded more than any politician in recent memory, save for the late Sen. John Glenn (R-Ohio).
Kelly took part in a unique NASA twins study that monitored his physiology and even his cognitive function compared to his twin Scott, who was also an astronaut. Mark Kelly was on the ground while his brother spent about year in space in 2015 and 2016, in effect serving as the baseline, having not been in space for years at the time.
'For a few measures, persistent changes were observed even after 6 months on Earth, including some genes’ expression levels, increased DNA damage from chromosomal inversions, increased numbers of short telomeres, and attenuated cognitive function,' according to the study, which was meant to study how humans could handle extended space flight.
The brothers each got flu vaccines, had their cardiovascular systems analyzed, and even had their genes studied.
Kelly met privately with Harris' vetting team, Politico reported.