Kamala Harris Vetting Former NASA Space Shuttle Commander for VP Pick

Running Man

As the Democratic National Convention hurdles ever closer, former NASA astronaut and Space Shuttle Commander Mark Kelly is among a shortlist of seven potential VP candidates undergoing vetting to be Kamala Harris' running mate.

As the Arizona Republic reports, Kelly — the current junior senator from the Grand Canyon State — is being considered alongside the likes of North Carolina's Gov. Roy Cooper, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro to join the Democratic presidential ticket following President Joe Biden's stunning resignation from the race last weekend.

The 60-year-old senator has, as the report notes, long been a supporter of both Harris and Biden. After Biden dropped out and endorsed the vice president, Kelly threw his support behind her in a statement posted to his personal account on X-formerly-Twitter, saying he "couldn't be more confident" that she's the right candidate to defeat Donald Trump in November.

If chosen, and if Harris' campaign is successful, Kelly would be the first former astronaut to serve as VP — a role which has traditionally overseen NASA itself.

Credit Is Due

Thus far, the twin astronaut hasn't commented much on his reported inclusion on the running mate shortlist except to say that he matters less than the woman at the top of the ticket.

"This is not about me," Kelly told ABC earlier this week. "I'm going to be focused on doing everything I can to make sure she is elected because we cannot have a repeat of what we saw between 2016 and 2020."

Nevertheless, Kelly is considered to be one of the best candidates among the field of potential VP candidates due to his unique background as a Naval pilot and captain, a NASA astronaut, and a gun control advocate following the near-fatal shooting of his wife Gabby Giffords in 2003.

While there are certainly merits to the other VP hopefuls, Kelly is by far the most exciting of the bunch — and which other shortlister can say, as Washington Post political columnist Karen Tumulty notes in an op-ed about the Arizona senator's credentials, that they've traveled more than 20 million miles in space?

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