Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), who is atop the shortlist to be Vice President Harris's running mate, is uncomfortable in the role of attack dog and has eschewed politics for most of his time in the Senate.
Kelly’s clean-cut reputation and focus on policy raises questions about whether he can play the traditional attack-dog role of a running mate.
“The vice presidential candidate really ideally would be somebody who would be comfortable being an attack dog on the other ticket but doing it in a way that’s not off-putting to winnable voters,” said John LaBombard, a Democratic strategist.
“My guess is that Sen. Kelly would have some growth to do in that part of the role, at least as compared to Gov. Walz,” he added, referencing Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), who is also said to be a VP contender.
The junior Arizona senator has tried to get into the role of partisan brawler a bit more in recent days by smacking Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), former President Trump’s running mate, for claiming the country is run by “childless cat ladies.”
Kelly drew a crowd outside the Capitol on a recent afternoon, where he uncharacteristically took a few partisan jabs at Vance, who is fueling rage among Democratic voters with his past comments on a range of topics.
“I think it’s a ridiculous thing to say about somebody,” he said of Vance’s characterization of Harris as a "childless cat lady." “It’s obnoxious and it’s rude and it’s also not surprising.
“What I really worry about is what he would do being one heartbeat away from the presidency,” Kelly added, transitioning to Democrats’ top issue: abortion.
“Here’s a guy who when he’s talking about women who have been raped or pregnant because of incest [says] that ‘two wrongs don’t make a right.’ What is wrong about a woman who has been raped to want to terminate a pregnancy?” he said. “I really worry about their rights if Donald Trump is elected again.”
Kelly has declined to comment on what discussions he might be having with Harris or her political team and insists he’s not auditioning for the top of the Democratic ticket.
“This whole thing is not about me. This is making sure Kamala beats Donald Trump in November. That’s my goal, I’m going to work as hard as I can regardless of what happens,” he told The Hill.
Kelly, a former naval aviator and astronaut, has stayed away from political food fights since winning election to the Senate in 2020.
During his first few years in Washington, he would often dodge political questions by saying that he didn’t think about the politics of his own 2022 reelection race and was mainly focused on passing bipartisan bills, such as the Chips and Science Act, which spurred investment in his home state.
Steve Jarding, a Democratic strategist and former adviser to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, acknowledged that Kelly might not be a perfect fit for the traditional attack-dog role of the vice president, but still touted him as a strong candidate.
“I like him a lot. I think he’s the best pick she could have. One of the reasons I like him is he’s not the attack dog,” he said, praising Kelly’s former astronaut image as rational, cool under pressure and mission focused.
“I understand traditionally the role, the VP pick does the dirty lifting,” he said.
But he warned that could backfire with “middle-of-the-road” voters who then might discount him as “the pit bull.”
“There’s something about not having an attack dog this time that I think he is good,” he said, citing voters’ weariness with polarization and excessive partisanship.
Kelly has made more frequent forays onto cable television since April, as the presidential election cycle heated up.
He is scheduled to appear on NBC’s “Morning Joe” on Wednesday. And he spoke out to defend President Biden from growing pressure from other Democratic senators who wanted him to drop his reelection bid after a disastrous debate performance.
He urged Democrats in mid-July to rally behind Biden and Harris, warning “we got to make sure we work as hard as possible, not make any mistakes,” and insisting Biden still had a path to victory.
He fielded tough questions about the anti-war protests on American college and university campuses during a May appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” and talked about the “mistakes” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made in waging an all-out assault against Gaza.
LaBombard, the Democratic strategist, said Kelly would bring other strengths to the ticket, even if he’s not a natural attack dog.
“He is a polished, elected lead from a battleground state with an inspiring background, ranging from his military service to his time as an astronaut, and he’s supported many of the bipartisan packages that Vice President Harris is sure to tout on the campaign trail,” he said.
LaBombard said Kelly’s support for Biden’s agenda in the Senate would be a strong selling point with Harris’s team but acknowledged they may be looking for a governor from outside the Beltway, such as Walz or Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, to balance the ticket.
He said that Walz or Shapiro might give Democrats a better chance of winning the critical Midwestern states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
“Those two guys … the two governors are from outside of Washington. That’s a big plus because people in both parties, especially independents in battleground states, do not cheer for Washington. He hasn’t been here long but Sen. Kelly would certainly be an inside-the-Beltway choice,” he said.
Another concern for Democrats is what would happen to Kelly’s Senate seat if Harris taps him to be her running mate.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) recruited Kelly in 2019 as the ideal candidate to win the seat long held by the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). Kelly went on to defeat former Sen. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.), who was appointed to McCain’s seat, in a 2020 special election.
While Arizona has trended more Democratic in recent years, Kelly’s seat would become more vulnerable to a GOP pickup if he left the Senate to serve in a Harris administration.
Schumer, the architect of the Senate Democratic majority, on Tuesday declined to comment on whether Kelly would be a strong choice to join Harris atop the ticket.
He also declined to say whether he is worried about keeping Kelly’s seat in Democratic hands if he jumps to the executive branch.
“I have total confidence that Vice President Harris will choose a great vice presidential candidate,” he said, holding his cards close to the chest. “I have complete faith in Vice President Harris’s choice.”
