Mark Kelly is running for re-election to the U.S. Senate to represent Arizona on a Democrat ticket. He is currently on the ballot for the 2022 US midterm elections that are scheduled on November 8, 2022.   

Going into the closing weeks of the election campaign, Democratic Senator Mark Kelly has raised more money in his election campaigns than that of his opponent Republican candidate Blake Masters.

Kelly’s campaign had raised $13 million at the beginning of October, whereas opponent Blake Masters raised $2.8 million through his campaign. 

Who is Mark Kelly? 

Mark Kelly, an American businessman and retired astronaut, was born on February 21, 1964.  He is the current junior United States Senator from Arizona. Mark is also a retired US Navy captain who led combat missions in the Gulf War. Mark Kelly, a Democrat, became the junior Senator after getting elected in a special election that was held after the death of Senator John McCain.

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Mark Kelly defeated Republican contender Martha McSally in the 2020 special elections. Kelly will be competing to retain his seat as the senator in the United States midterm elections taking place in November this year. Kelly’s opponent is yet to be announced by the Republican party.

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Mark Kelly went to Mountain High School in New Jersey and did his bachelor’s degree in marine engineering from USA Merchant Marine Academy. Kelly did his masters in aeronautical engineering to join the US Navy as a naval aviator. Mark Kelly and his twin Scott Kelly were appointed by Nasa as space shuttle pilots in 1996. The West Orange-born Mark Kelly took his first space trip in 2001. Kelly lived in space for about 11 days and orbited the Earth as many as 186 times during the period.

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After retiring from the US Navy and NASA in 2011, Kelly began a gun control campaign and founded a non-profit organization ‘Giffords’. Kelly’s wife Gabby Giffords was a congresswoman in Arizona when she was shot in an assassination attempt. She survived the attack but received a severe brain injury. Mark Kelly worked as an activist against gun violence along with his wife Giffords.

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Mark Kelly has had some interesting political stances in the past. In 2021, He criticized Joe Biden’s policies for border security. He has also been said to be a pro-choice in the abortion controversy. Kelly has been very vocal about climatic issues but does not support the Green New Deal. In 2020, Mark Kelly said that he was in support of strong border security but opposed the Trump Wall construction. In February 2021 he voted against giving COVID-19 financial support to ‘paperless immigrants’.