Where is Sen. Mark Kelly? Here's what he has been doing as VP talk heats up
All those rumored to be in the running for a revised Democratic presidential ticket headed by Vice President Kamala Harris kept relatively low profiles on Sunday.
For U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., that was a little easier than for the governors also mentioned as possible picks.
Kelly has been part of a congressional delegation visiting England. While there, he met the United Kingdom’s new prime minister, Kier Starmer, and attended the Farnborough International Airshow, an annual aerospace, aviation and military conference.
It was the second visit with a head of state in as many weeks for Kelly. Last week he also met Mexico’s outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum.
Such visits are hardly surprising for Kelly. He has traveled to war zones like Israel and Ukraine and met with Taiwan’s president, who is a source of tense relations with mainland China. Kelly is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and a veteran combat pilot and astronaut, so military-related airshows are not new for him.
Kelly’s visit to the U.K. was planned long before President Joe Biden shook up American politics with his decision Sunday to exit the race and endorsed Harris to succeed him.
Kelly had supported the Biden-Harris ticket throughout the tumultuous weeks after Biden’s poor performance in a June 27 debate with former President Donald Trump.
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In a statement Sunday, Kelly called Biden “one of the most consequential presidents in history.” He also threw his support to Harris, saying, “I couldn’t be more confident that Vice President (Harris) is the right person to defeat Donald Trump and lead our country into the future.”
The Senate is scheduled to reconvene Tuesday.
When it does, Kelly could return to a Washington buzzing about who will form the Democratic team to challenge Trump and his running mate, U.S. Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio.
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Harris has quickly consolidated support from other corners of Democratic politics. Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton both endorsed her on Sunday. So, too, did Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Several Democratic governors seen as potential presidential candidates or vice-presidential picks issued statements Sunday backing Harris. They include Roy Cooper of North Carolina, Phil Murphy of New Jersey, Gavin Newsom of California and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., backed Harris on Monday after being among the most prominent voices calling for a process allowing several candidates to vie for the nomination. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer also backed Harris on Monday.
Harris was rapidly picking up the needed delegates to formally clinch the presidential nomination.
Harris has the public support of at least 40% of the delegates needed to win the Democratic nomination, with some states already committing their complete support for her. Arizona’s delegates were considering such a step on Monday.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Where is Mark Kelly? Here's what he's been doing as VP talk heats up