'Republicans for Kelly' announce support for Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly's reelection

Sen. Mark Kelly's campaign on Friday kicked off "Republicans for Kelly," a group of approximately 50 Republicans and independents who are supporting the Arizona Democrat's reelection bid.

The list, designed to demonstrate Kelly's crossover appeal in Arizona, a newly purple state, includes business executives, past and present politicians and people in a variety of sectors across Arizona.

Members include Paul Charlton, a former U.S. attorney under President George W. Bush; David McIntyre, president and CEO of TriWest Healthcare Alliance; plus five and 13 current and former state legislators and mayors respectively.

The group pointed to Kelly's accomplishments such as the bipartisan infrastructure law that Kelly was instrumental in passing. They also said he helped secure funding for the border and helped to advance microchip production.

Kelly, a U.S. Navy veteran and a retired NASA astronaut, in the Nov. 8 general election will face the winner of Arizona's five-way Republican Senate primary on Aug. 2.

"It's (Kelly's) character. It's his service to country, which mirrors that of John McCain's," said Max Fose, a former aide to McCain, a six-term Arizona Republican who held the Senate seat Kelly is defending from 1987 until his death in 2018.

"He's trying to bring microchip manufacturing not only home to the United States, but home to Arizona. It's a job creator; It's a national security issue," Fose said.

Elaborating on why he is crossing the aisle to back Kelly, Fose cited Kelly's bipartisan nature: "You don't you don't see Mark Kelly throwing bombs across the aisle, right?"

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In an interview with The Arizona Republic, Kelly emphasized the importance of bipartisanship as a senator.

"It takes a collective effort across the whole political spectrum sometimes to get things done. Republicans can't do stuff on their own and Democrats can't, either," Kelly said.

This extends to the state and local level as well, he said.

"I'm constantly on the phone with mayors and members of city councils and sheriffs. And, you know, can't tell you what political parties they're a part of. I don't care," Kelly said.

Mesa Mayor John Giles, a Republican, said he is backing Kelly because of the access the senator has afforded him and because of the infrastructure legislation.

"Sometimes we are chasing our representatives in D.C. to get their help and it's been the opposite experience," Giles said in an interview. "Senator Kelly has reached out to me and to other local elected officials and asked what he can do to help, particularly on issues like the bipartisan infrastructure bill."

Tara Kavaler is a politics reporter at The Arizona Republic. She can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @kavalertara.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 'Republicans for Kelly' group announces support for Sen. Mark Kelly