Why I think Mark Kelly will be the V.P. choice.

[Cattledog]

1. US Navy Captain & fighter pilot. Flew combat missions.

2. Astronaut. Piloted the Space Shuttle.

3. Married to Gabby Giffords who was shot in an assassination attempt

4. From a border state.


Combat vet negates Vance saying he was a Marine.

Military experience will help attract white male voters.

His wife actually took a bullet.

Being from a border state he has immigration bonafides.

[BlueGreenLady]

1. The only draw back to Kelly as VP is that

it might loose the Dem's a Senate seat- We cannot afford that.

[AZSkiffyGeek]

6. It won't - replacement will be appointed by Dem governor

And has to be a Democrat per AZ law.

[former9thward]

26. Temporarily.

Until a special election is held.

[AZSkiffyGeek]

31. In 2026

[former9thward]

32. Yes, posters keep saying four years.

The special election is the next general election.

[Cattledog]

33. Giving up so quickly? Are you saying we can't win that seat in 2026?

[former9thward]

39. If you want to take the risk, that is your position.

That did not work out so well in 2022 when we lost the House and Biden's legislation was stopped for the last half of his term.

[Cattledog]

12. Dem Gov will appoint another Dem to fill out the rest of his term. 2 years.

[OnDoutside]

21. He was re-elected in 2022, so another 4 years

Kelly won reelection in the November 2022 general election, defeating Republican challenger Blake Masters

[former9thward]

28. Two years.

A special election is required. Next general which would be Nov. 2026.

[Self Esteem]

36. No. It's not worth it.

There will be a special election in 2026, a midterm that historically hinders the party in power, and I don't know if there's as valuable of a candidate in Arizona who could win like Kelly. He's literally a fucking astronaut and he still eked out victory two years ago.

He's too valuable and we can lock that seat in for at least four more years without risking losing it prematurely.

[OnDoutside]

13. Katie Hobbs will choose the replacement and they'll

have 4 years before standing for re-election.

[former9thward]

29. No, 2 years.

A special election is required.

[OnDoutside]

34. Actually you are correct

https://www.coloradopolitics.com/how-a-mark-kelly-vp-pick-could-give-arizonans-a-senate-election-every-even-year/article_c3cac836-71e1-5436-89e2-a46c7a70beeb.html

[pinkstarburst]

47. Two years--2026 and then again in 2028

[GreenWave]

51. As happened in Georgia with Warnock.

[OnDoutside]

58. Yes you are correct

[BlueGreenLady]

22. Political Thinkers online are suggesting that Kamala's VP needs to

come from a Swing state and would better it be a Governor rather than risk a Senate seat. Gov Shapiro from PA or
Gov. Andy Beshear from KY are being bandied about.

[BannonsLiver]

25. It'll probably be a governor

Yes, a Dem would appoint Kelly’s replacement but why tempt fate when you can pick a gov. Senate races are nationalized now and are harder to win than gubernatorial races.

[onecaliberal]

53. Shapiro!

[Phoenix61]

2. That would be a foolish choice. We need the Dem senate seats. nt

[BComplex]

3. Mark Kelly would be a wonderful VP pick, but we really need him in the Senate at the moment.

We need a majority in the Senate for Kamala to be able to get her agenda turned into law.

[calguy]

4. He'll probably be a good pick

I haven't heard him speak, but I've heard Shapiro, and he gets my nod at the present time. That being said, Kamala has many good choices from our deep bench, so I don't think she'll be able to make a bad pick.

[Xavier Breath]

7. Shapiro's the best choice.

He would eviscerate Vance and Trump.

[calguy]

17. He's my pick because he's such a strong speaker

plus he puts Pennsylvania comfortably in our column so we can spend our resources on closer, harder to win states, like Georgia, Arizona, and possibly even Florida.

[PortTack]

37. Agree...just read too that there would be a shift in policy towards Gaza/israel. That to me, that hints she is leaning

Towards Shapiro…he’s Jewish and they wouldn’t want him to be stuck with difficult FP questions…makes sense

[bucolic_frolic]

18. Shapiro brings PA ECV and supports PA Senate race

Haven't seen polling on Casey v. McCormick race

[PlanetBev]

5. I believe the Democratic Governor would name his replacement

So there’s that.

[AZSkiffyGeek]

9. This is true

It’s been pointed out a lot but no one seems to pay attention.

[OnDoutside]

23. I've been pointing that out and the replacement would get

4 years before facing reelection.

[former9thward]

30. Two years.

A special election is required.

[hauckeye]

16. You're correct, I just looked it up

[pinkstarburst]

48. And they would have to run again 2 years later in 2026

Mark Kelly barely won the seat with all of his star power. AZ is not an easy state to win in for democrats. There is no guarantee we would hold onto that seat. It's a huge risk giving up that seat and there's really no need to take it--there are other good VP candidates.

[LongtimeAZDem]

59. "Barely won the seat"? He beat McSally by 2 1/2 points and was relected against Masters by 5

Those are awesome numbers for a Democrat in Arizona.

[madaboutharry]

8. I think Mark Kelly would be a great choice.

He is my favorite. Kamala has other choices as well. It is a deep bench of great possibilities. We will find out soon.

[Joe Cool]

10. Shapiro

He's the best choice by far.

[orange jar]

11. Possibly.

It's very likely. I trust Harris to choose the person who is best qualified to serve. But the more I consider it, the more I lean toward Shapiro.

Maybe he's too obvious, but I just have a strong feeling it will be him. I also really like Beshear as a possible contender.

[lindysalsagal]

55. Shapiro is perfect because he's so good on his feet. Likable!

He melts on contact. We need that speed right now!

[honest.abe]

14. Too much "west coast". We need a "rust belter".

[AZSkiffyGeek]

19. Arizona is NOT west coast

[honest.abe]

20. Yeah, but to "rust belters" they are.

[OnDoutside]

24. Probably more seen as a border state ?

[AZSkiffyGeek]

38. This - and I think that's why he will be good

Harris is going to be attacked on Border issues. Having someone who worked on the border bill should shore that up.
And he has some of the strongest gun control bonafides in the party.

[LeftInTX]

40. He was born and raised in NJ and was in the Navy until 2011.

He married Gabby in 2007. I don't know where they met? Was he stationed in AZ?

I believe his twin brother resides in Houston.

So, he was in the military for 25 years. He's kinda been all over.

[honest.abe]

43. Got it.. thanks for the clarification.

However, I still think he wont be it. We need a rust belt gov.

[honest.abe]

43. self delete

[honest.abe]

45. dupe. self delete

[Quakerfriend]

54. I read that they met at a conference in China. 😉

[LeftInTX]

56. So he was likely living "wherever"

I really don't see him as tied to a geographical area. Military brats are all over the place.

Obama was from IL, but he was really from Hawaii. I think that gave him an edge in other locales. The right tried to depict him as a "Chicago style politician", but he really wasn't.

[Crunchy Frog]

15. I'd love to see Gabby Giffords become 2nd Lady.

[Srkdqltr]

27. Besides, Mark Kelly has name recognition. If someone doesn't know him just say, the astronaut.

He is most known

[still-prayin4rain]

35. Dems could hold onto Kelly's seat until at least 2026. IMHO, beating Dump is more important than what might happen in

2026. I think Kelly would be an excellent choice for a number of reasons and EVERYBODY loves astronauts.

[krawhitham]

41. Democrat-lite is not needed or wanted

He's one of our least reliable votes in the Senate

Of the 51 people that caucus with Democrats, he ranks 46th


https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/biden-congress-votes/

[still-prayin4rain]

42. Looks like Kelly votes 95% with Biden and Elizabeth Warren votes 96% with Biden..if I am reading these links correctly.

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/biden-congress-votes/mark-kelly/

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/biden-congress-votes/elizabeth-warren/

I certainly wouldn't consider EW to be democratic lite.

[DET]

46. I'm In

I think Mark Kelly would be a great choice as a counterbalance to what many will call the ‘extreme liberalism’ of Kamala Harris. Kelly should appeal to moderate Democrats and independents, especially men. He has name recognition and hero status and he’s a personable guy. Plus his wife would be a living example of the need for gun control. And his devotion to his injured wife would appeal to women as a counterbalance to the toxic masculinity that women are sick of. I don’t think we can really go wrong with any of the names that have been floated, but we really need to be strategic and pragmatic with the VP pick. Mark Kelly would be a good choice.

[Wavelight]

50. Well said

Nt

[Emile]

49. I still want Al Franken.

[Innocent Smith]

52. He would be a wise choice

[arlyellowdog]

57. A Biden type Catholic to offset Vance's fascist Catholic

[brooklynite]

60. Gabby Giffords did NOT "take a bullet"; she survived being shot

“Taking a bullet” refers to putting yourself in the path of a bullet to prevent someone else from being shot.