Capt. Mark Kelly, U.S. Senator

Mark Edward Kelly (born February 21, 1964) is an American politician, former astronaut, and United States Navy captain who has been the junior United States senator from Arizona since 2020. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected in the special election held following the death of Senator John McCain, defeating incumbent Republican Martha McSally.

Kelly flew combat missions during the Gulf War as a naval aviator before being selected as a NASA Space Shuttle pilot in 1996. He flew his first space mission in 2001 as pilot of STS-108, piloted STS-121 in 2006, and commanded STS-124 in 2008 and STS-134 in 2011, the final mission of Space Shuttle Endeavour. His identical twin, Scott Kelly, is also a retired astronaut; they are the only siblings to have both traveled into orbit.

Kelly's wife, then-Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, was shot and nearly killed in an assassination attempt on January 8, 2011. Six people died in the Tucson shooting. After the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting the following year, Giffords and Kelly founded the nonprofit Americans for Responsible Solutions, later renamed Giffords, which campaigns for gun control measures like universal background checks and red flag laws.

Kelly announced his candidacy for Arizona's Class 3 U.S. Senate seat in the 2020 special election on February 12, 2019. He won the Democratic primary on August 4, 2020, and defeated incumbent Republican Martha McSally in the November 3, 2020, general election, becoming the first Democrat to win this seat since 1962. Kelly was sworn in on December 2, 2020. In 2022, he was elected to a full term in office, defeating Republican challenger Blake Masters. Kelly will become the senior senator from Arizona in January 2025, when Kyrsten Sinema leaves the Senate.

Family life

Kelly and twin brother Scott Kelly are the sons of Richard and Patricia (née McAvoy) Kelly, two retired police officers. Kelly is of Irish descent. He was born on February 21, 1964, in Orange, New Jersey and raised in West Orange, New Jersey.

Kelly married Amelia Victoria Babis on January 7, 1989. They divorced in 2004. They have two daughters, Claudia and Claire Kelly.

Photo of Kelly and wife Gabby Giffords in 2016
Kelly and wife Gabby Giffords in 2016
Kelly married U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords of Tucson, Arizona, on November 10, 2007, in a ceremony presided over by Rabbi Stephanie Aaron. (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Sources

• "Mark Kelly." Wikipedia, revision of 20 July 2024. < link > Accessed 21 July 2024.