Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Arizona's Kelly Is Sworn Into Senate, Narrowing GOP Edge
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 years ago on
December 3, 2020

Share

WASHINGTON — Arizona Democrat and former astronaut Mark Kelly was sworn into the Senate on Wednesday, narrowing Republican control of the chamber and underscoring his state’s shift from red to blue.

Kelly, 56, defeated GOP Sen. Martha McSally in last month’s election, making her one of only three incumbents to lose. By taking office, he has reduced the Republican edge in the chamber to 52-48.

That will have scant impact on Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s control over the chamber for the final month of this congressional session. But it sets the stage for two pivotal Jan. 5 Senate runoff elections in Georgia.

If Democrats win both, they will command the 50-50 chamber for the new Congress that begins in early January because Vice President-elect Kamala Harris would cast tie-breaking votes.

Kelly cast himself as a problem-solving centrist during his campaign, and his slender 2 percentage point victory over McSally suggests he’ll want to be part of Democrats’ moderate wing.

In an interview, he praised the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a political maverick whose seat he now holds and whose grave he visited Tuesday at the U.S. Naval Academy in nearby Annapolis, Maryland.

He also voiced support for a push by bipartisan congressional moderates to pass a COVID-19 relief bill before Congress adjourns for the year. “I think something should happen now,” he said.

Kelly was sworn into office by Vice President Mike Pence, and both men wore masks and bumped arms in congratulations when the oath was over. Among those watching from the visitors’ gallery were his wife, former Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz., and Scott Kelly, his twin brother and fellow retired astronaut.

Kelly’s Arizona colleague, Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, held the Bible on which he took his oath. In what may be a Senate first for such ceremonies, Sinema, known for dramatic fashion, wore a zebra-striped coat and had purple hair, or perhaps a wig.

The State Backed President-Elect Joe Biden Last Month

Kelly’s Senate arrival marks a political milestone for Arizona, which has two Democratic senators for the first time since January 1953. That is when GOP Sen. Barry Goldwater took office, barely a decade before he became his party’s unsuccessful 1964 presidential candidate.

In other evidence of Arizona’s political shift, the state backed President-elect Joe Biden last month, the first time a Democratic presidential candidate carried it since 1996.

McSally was appointed to her seat in 2019 to replace McCain. Her appointment lasted only until last month’s special election was officially certified, which occurred this week. That cleared the way for Kelly to take office and fill the rest of McCain’s six-year term, meaning Kelly will face reelection in 2022.

Kelly was parachuting into a fractious lame-duck session in which lawmakers and President Donald Trump are so far deadlocked over whether to provide a pre-holiday COVID-19 relief package worth hundreds of billions of dollars. They’re also trying to address year-end budget work and a defense policy bill.

In what was one of the country’s most expensive Senate races, Kelly raised $89 million. That was second only to the $108 million collected by defeated South Carolina Democratic Senate candidate Jaime Harrison, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.

Republican Cory Gardner of Colorado and Democrat Doug Jones of Alabama were the only other Senate incumbents defeated last month.

The son of two police officers, Kelly is a retired astronaut who flew four space missions, including spending time aboard the International Space Station. He was also a Navy pilot who flew combat missions during Operation Desert Storm in the early 1990s.

Giffords was grievously wounded in a 2011 mass shooting in which six people were killed and a dozen others hurt. She and Kelly became leading figures in unsuccessful efforts to pressure Congress to strengthen gun controls.

“Great day, excellent day,” Giffords told reporters afterward.

Kelly is the fourth astronaut to be elected to Congress. John Glenn was a Democratic senator from Ohio and Harrison Schmitt was a GOP senator from New Mexico. Republican Jack Swigert was elected to the House from Colorado, but died of cancer before taking office.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

PBS Suing Trump Administration Over Defunding, Three Days After NPR Filed Similar Case

DON'T MISS

Loretta Swit, Emmy-winner Who Played Houlihan on Pioneering TV Series ‘M.A.S.H.,’ Has Died at 87

DON'T MISS

San Francisco 49ers Acquire Eagles Edge Rusher Bryce Huff, AP Source Says

DON'T MISS

California Lawmaker Won’t Be Charged After Citation for Suspicion of Impaired Driving

DON'T MISS

California School Awards Dinner at Disneyland Comes With Hefty Price Tag

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Release Video of Officer-Involved Shooting

DON'T MISS

Hamas Says It Is Still Reviewing a US Proposal for a Gaza Ceasefire

DON'T MISS

1 in 4 US Children Have Parents With Substance Use Disorder, Study Finds

DON'T MISS

Oreo Maker Mondelez Sues Aldi, Alleging Grocery Chain Copies Its Packaging to Confuse Customers

DON'T MISS

FAA Demands an Accident Investigation Into SpaceX’s Latest Out-of-Control Starship Flight

UP NEXT

1 in 4 US Children Have Parents With Substance Use Disorder, Study Finds

UP NEXT

Dozens Sickened in Expanding Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Recalled Cucumbers

UP NEXT

Speaker Johnson Raises Campaign Money in Fresno

UP NEXT

Business Insider Cuts 21% of Workforce, Memo Shows

UP NEXT

Harvard Agrees to Relinquish Early Photos of Slaves, Ending a Long Legal Battle

UP NEXT

Silence on E. Coli Outbreak Highlights How Trump Team’s Changes Undermine Food Safety

UP NEXT

Trump Pardons Tax Cheat After Mother Attends $1 Million Dinner

UP NEXT

NPR Sues Trump Administration Over Executive Order to Cut Funding

UP NEXT

Justice Department Reaches Deal to Allow Boeing to Avoid Prosecution Over 737 Max Crashes

UP NEXT

Low-Income Compton Students Get $225M State-of-the-Art High School Campus

California Lawmaker Won’t Be Charged After Citation for Suspicion of Impaired Driving

1 hour ago

California School Awards Dinner at Disneyland Comes With Hefty Price Tag

3 hours ago

Fresno Police Release Video of Officer-Involved Shooting

3 hours ago

Hamas Says It Is Still Reviewing a US Proposal for a Gaza Ceasefire

3 hours ago

1 in 4 US Children Have Parents With Substance Use Disorder, Study Finds

3 hours ago

Oreo Maker Mondelez Sues Aldi, Alleging Grocery Chain Copies Its Packaging to Confuse Customers

4 hours ago

FAA Demands an Accident Investigation Into SpaceX’s Latest Out-of-Control Starship Flight

4 hours ago

In Marseille, a Shadow Becomes Art in Banksy’s Latest Street Mural

4 hours ago

Dozens Sickened in Expanding Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Recalled Cucumbers

4 hours ago

Ray Appleton Set to Resume His KMJ Show. E Curtis Johnson Retires

4 hours ago

PBS Suing Trump Administration Over Defunding, Three Days After NPR Filed Similar Case

PBS filed suit Friday against President Donald Trump and other administration officials to block his order stripping federal funding from th...

36 minutes ago

36 minutes ago

PBS Suing Trump Administration Over Defunding, Three Days After NPR Filed Similar Case

1 hour ago

Loretta Swit, Emmy-winner Who Played Houlihan on Pioneering TV Series ‘M.A.S.H.,’ Has Died at 87

1 hour ago

San Francisco 49ers Acquire Eagles Edge Rusher Bryce Huff, AP Source Says

1 hour ago

California Lawmaker Won’t Be Charged After Citation for Suspicion of Impaired Driving

3 hours ago

California School Awards Dinner at Disneyland Comes With Hefty Price Tag

3 hours ago

Fresno Police Release Video of Officer-Involved Shooting

3 hours ago

Hamas Says It Is Still Reviewing a US Proposal for a Gaza Ceasefire

3 hours ago

1 in 4 US Children Have Parents With Substance Use Disorder, Study Finds

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend