Mark Kelly

Mark Kelly
Official portrait, 2021
Official portrait, 2021
United States Senator
from Arizona
Assumed office
December 2, 2020
Serving with Kyrsten Sinema
Preceded byMartha McSally
Personal details
Born
Mark Edward Kelly

(1964-02-21) February 21, 1964 (age 60)
Orange, New Jersey, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic (2018–present)[1]
Other political
affiliations
Independent (before 2018)
Spouses
Amelia Babis
(m. 1989; div. 2004)
(m. 2007)
Children2
RelativesScott Kelly (twin brother)
EducationUnited States Merchant Marine Academy (BS)
Naval Postgraduate School (MS)
Signature
WebsiteSenate website
Military service
Branch/serviceUnited States Navy
Years of service1986–2011
RankCaptain
Battles/warsGulf War
Space career
NASA astronaut
Time in space
54d 2h 4m
SelectionNASA Group 16 (1996)
MissionsSTS-108
STS-121
STS-124
STS-134
Mission insignia
RetirementOctober 1, 2011[2]

Mark Edward Kelly (born February 21, 1964) is an American politician, retired astronaut, and United States Navy captain. A member of the Democratic Party, he has been the junior U.S. senator from Arizona since 2020. In 2022, he won reelection to a full term.

Kelly flew combat missions during the Gulf War as a naval aviator before being selected as a NASA Space Shuttle pilot in 1996. He flew his first space mission in 2001 as pilot of STS-108, then piloted STS-121 in 2006, and commanded STS-124 in 2008 and STS-134 (the final mission of Space Shuttle Endeavour) in 2011. In January 2011, Kelly's wife, then-Arizona Representative Gabby Giffords, was shot and nearly killed in an assassination attempt in Arizona. Kelly retired from the Navy and NASA that October. In 2013, Kelly and Giffords founded a non-profit political action committee, Americans for Responsible Solutions (later merged into Giffords), which campaigned for gun control measures like universal background checks.

On February 12, 2019, Kelly announced his candidacy for Arizona's Class 3 U.S. Senate seat in the 2020 special election.[a] He won the Democratic primary on August 4, 2020, and defeated incumbent Republican Martha McSally in the general election on November 3, 2020, becoming the first Democrat to win this seat since 1962. Kelly was sworn in on December 2, 2020. In 2022, he was elected to a full term in office, defeating Republican challenger Blake Masters. Democrat Kyrsten Sinema's departure from the Senate in January 2025 would make Kelly the senior senator from Arizona.[3] He was viewed as one of the leading contenders for the Democratic vice presidential nomination in the 2024 U.S. presidential election.[4]

  1. ^ Wingett Sanchez, Yvonne (March 4, 2019). "Mark Kelly Is Running as a Democrat for the Senate. in 2012, He Voted in a GOP Primary". The Arizona Republic. Archived from the original on January 18, 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference retired was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Kysten Sinema will not seek re-election". BBC News. March 5, 2024.
  4. ^ "Mark Kelly deletes tweet that fueled speculation about VP race". The Hill. August 5, 2024. Retrieved August 6, 2024.


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