Possible VP pick Mark Kelly has Florida ties, along with his twin and fellow astronaut
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The fallout in the 2024 election continues.
It started Sunday, July 21, when President Joe Biden announced he was pulling out of the presidential race. Now, voters across the country are waiting to hear who Vice President Kamala Harris will choose as her running mate.
Among those currently said to be under consideration is Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona.
Kelly is no stranger to Florida, having served as an astronaut and commander of Shuttle Endeavour on its final flight. He was inducted to the Astronaut Hall of Fame in May 2023.
Kamala Harris could be considering 9 possible VP candidates
Besides Sen. Mark Kelly, there are eight other potential candidates Vice President Kamala Harris is likely considering as her running mate. See the pros and cons for each as evaluated by USA TODAY:
Who is Sen. Mark Kelly?
Born: Feb. 21, 1964 in West Orange, New Jersey
Parents: Richard and Patricia Kelly. Both worked as police officers. Richard Kelly was a Navy paratrooper who later became a West Orange police officer. Patricia Kelly was the West Orange Police Department's first female police officer.
Siblings: Mark Kelly has an identical twin brother, Scott Kelly, who also was an astronaut. Scott Kelly is a veteran of four space flights and took over command of the International Space Station on three expeditions.
Wife: U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Arizona. On Jan. 8, 2011, she was shot in the head at a constituent event near Tucson by a man with paranoid schizophrenia. Six people died and 12 others besides Giffords were wounded.
Children: Mark Kelly's first marriage ended in divorce after 15 years. He has two adult daughters, Claire and Claudia. Claire is a graduate of Arizona State University, and Claudia is a student at the University of Arizona.
Education: Mark Kelly earned his B.S. degree in marine engineering and nautical science from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and later an M.S. degree in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School.
Military career: As a Navy pilot, Mark Kelly made multiple deployments on the aircraft carrier USS Midway and flew 39 combat missions in Operation Desert Storm. He received the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, two Distinguished Flying Crosses, and multiple Air Medals. He retired from the Navy with the rank of captain.
Political career: Mark Kelly currently serves as a U.S. Senator for Arizona, in the seat held by Sen. John McCain, who died of brain cancer. Kelly serves on the Armed Services, Environment and Public Works, Intelligence, Aging, and Joint Economic Committees. He is chair of the Senate Armed Services Airland Subcommittee.
Hobbies: Mark Kelly said he enjoys spending time with family (especially his granddaughter Sage), going to the gym, riding his bike around Tucson with with wife, hiking, and exploring Arizona’s outdoors.
Follow Mark Kelly on social media:
Sen. Mark Kelly: All about the US senator from Arizona and Gabrielle Giffords' husband
Mark Kelly's mother, Patricia, served with Flagler Beach Police Department in Florida
Besides becoming the first female police officer at the West Orange Police Department, Patricia Kelly also served with the Flagler Beach Police Department. An injury prompted her to retire and move to Texas to be near her grandchildren, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.
Patricia Kelly also was a prison guard and an Essex Park County (New Jersey) police officer.
She died in April 2012 of lung cancer.
"She is the only woman in the world who raised twin astronauts. She raised two sons, not just brothers but twins, who flew up into the heavens,” said her husband, Richard Kelly.
Mark Kelly's father, Richard, was police chief at Flagler Beach Police Department in Florida
After leaving the Army, where he was a paratrooper, Richard Kelly began a career in law enforcement and rose to the rank of captain with the West Orange Police Department, according to his obituary.
Prior to retiring in 1987, he was the police chief in Flagler Beach, Florida.
Richard Kelly died in October 2016 in Texas from complications from a lifetime of tobacco use.
Mark Kelly the astronaut, along with identical twin Scott Kelly, the astronaut
In 1996, Mark Kelly was selected as an astronaut in the same NASA class as his identical twin brother, Scott Kelly. Mark Kelly’s first of four trips into space was as pilot of STS-108 in December 2001, during which he helped deliver equipment, supplies and additional crew members to the International Space Station.
He flew a second mission in 2006 and a third in 2008.
His final mission came in 2011, months after Giffords was shot. He and NASA decided to keep him as commander of the team. Three weeks after returning to Earth after commanding Shuttle Endeavour on its final flight, Kelly announced he would retire from NASA later that year, citing his wife’s medical needs.
The shuttle program ended Aug. 31, 2011.
Mark Kelly spent more than 50 days in space — traveling more than 20 million miles.
Mark Kelly inducted into Astronaut Hall of Fame
Mark Kelly was inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2023. He was the second sitting senator to be inducted after John Glenn in 1990.
"It is really such an honor to be inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame," Mark Kelly said at the time.
"I'm grateful to be born in a country as the son of two police officers to watch the Apollo missions from their living room floor to go on to reach the heights of the world's greatest space program."
Identical twin brother Scott Kelly was inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2020. The brothers became the first pair of siblings and the only set of identical twins to hold places in the Hall of Fame.
"As special as it was to be an astronaut, nothing compares to doing it with your clone," Mark Kelly said.
"The list of human beings who have made a greater contribution to space exploration than my brother Scott is very, very short. It means even more to be joining these ranks with you."
Mark Kelly, twin brother Scott Kelly, conducted special experiment
In 2015, identical twin brothers Mark and Scott Kelly participated in the first experiment to assess the longterm effects of space radiation and microgravity on the human body and mind. Scott Kelly was in space, while Mark Kelly was at his Arizona home.
In addition to taking cognitive tests, the Kelly twins regularly provide samples of blood, saliva and other bodily fluids. And they undergo MRIs and ultrasound tests so researchers can study what protracted time in space does to bone density, cell tissue and other DNA markers.
Scientists will use the data to determine how to prepare astronauts for a round trip to Mars that could take as long as three years.
Pros, cons of Mark Kelly as vice presidential pick for Kamala Harris
USA TODAY offered these pros and cons of Mark Kelly as a vice presidential pick.
Pros:
Kelly won statewide elections for the U.S. Senate seat in Arizona in 2020 in a special election to finish the term of the late Sen. John McCain and for a full term in 2022. He could give Democrats a boost in the crucial battleground state as VP nominee.
He has a background in military service as a naval aviator and as a former astronaut, giving him a platform to attack former President Donald Trump on claims that Trump has mocked veterans.
Kelly is the husband of former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords, who was shot in the head during a 2011 mass casualty event at a Tucson grocery store. Their story could prove powerful as gun violence takes center stage in the 2024 election.
Opinion: Kamala Harris doesn't scare Republicans, but Mark Kelly absolutely should
Cons:
Kelly is relatively unvetted on the national stage and is not well known beyond his state.
He has served in the U.S. Senate only since 2020 and is among the least-experienced politicians being considered for the VP nomination.
Swing state Arizona would hold a special election to fill his Senate seat if Kelly is picked and Democrats win the White House in November.
Contributors: Jamie Groh, FLORIDA TODAY; Ledyard King, Karissa Waddick, Ramon Padilla, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Will Kamala pick astronaut Sen. Mark Kelly, husband of Gabby Giffords?
