Mark Kelly. The Hill/Getty.
Gun control advocate and former astronaut Mark Kelly announced a run as a Democrat to try and unseat incumbent Senator Martha McSally in Arizona. The Hill. Kelly came to national prominence as a gun control advocate after his wife, congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, was shot in a mass shooting. Kelly tried to paint himself as a moderate leftist on issues such as immigration and climate change. He may not have an uncontested primary as Representative Ruben Gallego is also considering a run. Democrats think Kelly might have a chance due to the fact that the state elected Kyrsten Sinema to the senate in 2018. The term of the election would only be for two years as Martha McSally was appointed by the Governor to fill in for the late John McCain.
My Comment:
Out of all the major political figures out there, only Michael Bloomberg is more hated by me. Like Bloomberg, Mark Kelly is one of the biggest critics of gun rights and represents a clear and present danger to the 2nd amendment. His views on gun rights alone should disqualify him from any elected office, let alone a senate seat. I find his cause to be absolutely disgusting and would never support him under any circumstances.
I also think he's a pretty terrible person just on what he has done to his wife. It's clear that Gabby Giffords isn't in a position to do much of anything after he major injuries when Jared Lee Loughner shot her and 18 other people, killing 6 of them including a Federal Judge. The shooting left her brain damaged and I am not sure that her thoughts on gun control can actually be attributed to her. Giffords was a supporter of gun rights before she got shot and though getting shot might change someone's minds it's pretty clear she's not all there anymore. Either way, turning her into a political pawn to support one of the most evil positions in America today is distasteful to say the least.
Furthermore, I greatly dislike how Kelly has used his position as a former astronaut to advance his political views. Space travel is something that should be celebrated by everyone and not tainted by politics. And Kelly has certainly not kept to that standard. His time as an astronaut was admirable but gave him no special insight into gun rights.
The big question is can he win? I'm not sure he even gets the nomination. He may face a primary challenge from Ruben Gallego. He'd probably have a disadvantage there as Kelly is a straight white male in a party that no longer wants to be represented by them. Gallego appears pretty white to me but he is of Mexican and Colombian descent so he definitely counts as Hispanic. He's also a war hero who served in Iraq, which would play well to moderates who still respect that kind of thing. He's a gun grabber as well, but he might be more attractive to Arizona's Democratic party, which is full of Hispanics. To be clear, I don't want Gallego to win either but I expect him to have different priorities than gun control.
If Kelly were to win the nomination he would go up against Martha McSally. Could he beat her? It's certainly possible as Arizona has trended left lately. They did just elect Kyrsten Sinema in a very close and potentially suspicious election. There is definitely a blue trend in Arizona that can't really be denied.
The good news is that 2020 is an election year where the presidency will be up for grabs. President Trump's approval rating among Republicans is very high and they will turn out for him and that will help people downticket.
I also think that Kelly's support of gun control will hurt him. It will cause some gun rights supporters that don't care too much about the GOP to come out and support McSally just because they want to keep their guns. He will likely face some major opposition from the NRA and other gun rights groups and they should be able to turn out the vote.
Still, even if he loses there is a chance that he would run in 2022 where there won't be President Trump on the ballot to help Martha McSally. Given how Arizona is trending and the fact that the demographic changes in the state haven't stopped it's very possible that Mark Kelly could get elected. If so, it will be a very dark day for the American people and their right to keep and bear arms.
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