Mark Kelly, a former NASA astronaut, has announced his intentions to run for the United States Senate. Kelly announced his campaign in an incredible video that has since gone viral on social media.
“My next mission,” he simply wrote.
Kelly is a retired Navy captain who commanded the final launch of Endeavour. He is also married to House of Representatives and gun control advocate Gabby Giffords, who was shot in the head.
“I care about people. I care about the state of Arizona. I care about this nation. So because of that, I’ve decided that I’m launching a campaign for the United States Senate,” Kelly said, via CNN. “I learned a lot from being an astronaut. I learned a lot from being a pilot in the Navy. I learned a lot about solving problems from being an engineer,” Kelly says in the campaign announcement video. “But what I learned from my wife is how you use policy to improve people’s lives.”
“Our fight to improve our gun laws and my commitment to tackling climate change and ending the outrageous influence corporate money has on our politics means there are a lot of powerful interests who want to stop us,” he added.
Kelly will be looking to take the seat left vacant by late Republican Senator John McCain, who died in 2018 due to brain cancer. Martha McSally current holds the seat until the 2020 special election.