Democrat Mark Kelly was sworn in as a US senator in Arizona on Wednesday, marking the first time in over 67 years that the state has two Democratic members in the upper chamber.  

While other senators-elect will have to wait until January to be sworn in for the new Congress, Kelly, who defeated Republican Martha McSally last month, was able to take the oath of office right away owing to a special election.

A Kelly aide told CNN earlier in the day that the former astronaut would be sworn in with his wife, former Democratic Rep. Gabby Giffords, and his two daughters by his side, and that his twin brother, Scott Kelly, and family friends would also be attending.

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For Kelly, a retired Navy captain and NASA astronaut, the election marks a moment of triumph that comes in the aftermath of tragedy.

In 2011, his wife, Arizona’s then-US Rep. Gabby Giffords, was shot in the head and nearly killed, an event that sent shock waves throughout the nation.

He later turned into a political activist, launching a group called Americans for Responsible Solutions alongside his wife and fighting for gun control policies.

Arizona, once a longtime Republican stronghold, elected Kelly to the Senate and President-elect Joe Biden this year. The last time two Democrats held the Senate seats in Arizona was in January 1953, after then-Senate Majority Leader Ernest McFarland lost his reelection to conservative stalwart Barry Goldwater in 1952. 

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When the Senate meets in January next year, Republicans will have a thin majority of 50 to 48. 

However, the two special elections in Georgia will then determine whether Republicans maintain it, or if Democrats would gain a razor-thin majority of 50 to 50 as Vice President-elect Kamala Harris would break any tie.