--- title: The Case for Mark Kelly as Kamala Harris’ VP Pick description: Kelly’s story, if attached to the Harris ticket, would strengthen the Democratic quest for victory, write Marvin Kalb and Garrett Mitchell. canonical: https://time.com/7002531/case-for-mark-kelly-kamala-harris-vp-essay/ author: Marvin Kalb article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-07-24T15:29:26.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-19T07:44:56.631Z article:section: Ideas og:title: The Case for Mark Kelly as Kamala Harris’ VP Pick og:description: Kelly’s story, if attached to the Harris ticket, would strengthen the Democratic quest for victory. og:url: https://time.com/7002531/case-for-mark-kelly-kamala-harris-vp-essay/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfd3a8fda9c4fe6e3/698a59239862f56d63895f3b/mark-kelly-vp-pick-june-2024.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: mark-kelly-vp-pick-june-2024 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Case for Mark Kelly as Kamala Harris’ VP Pick twitter:description: Kelly’s story, if attached to the Harris ticket, would strengthen the Democratic quest for victory. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfd3a8fda9c4fe6e3/698a59239862f56d63895f3b/mark-kelly-vp-pick-june-2024.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Case for Mark Kelly as Kamala Harris’ VP Pick > Sponsored content. 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Here’s What Happens Now [Watch (HLS stream): Biden Has Dropped Out of the 2024 Presidential Election. Here’s What Happens Now](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/PFLPBNbe.m3u8) (3:12)  _Published 2024-07-22. President Joe Biden announced on Sunday that he would not seek re-election, a decision that upends the 2024 presidential contest. For the Democratic Party, Biden's exit injects uncertainty into an already tumultuous election cycle. With just over 100 days until Election Day, Democrats now face the urgent task of selecting a new nominee capable of rallying the party and confronting Donald Trump, who leads in most major polls._ by [Marvin Kalb](https://time.com/author/marvin-kalb/) and [Garrett Mitchell](https://time.com/author/garrett-mitchell/) Jul 24, 2024 3:29 PM UTC President Joe Biden announced on Sunday that he would not seek re-election, a decision that upends the 2024 presidential contest. For the Democratic Party, Biden's exit injects uncertainty into an already tumultuous election cycle. With just over 100 days until Election Day, Democrats now face the urgent task of selecting a new nominee capable of rallying the party and confronting Donald Trump, who leads in most major polls. by [Marvin Kalb](https://time.com/author/marvin-kalb/) and [Garrett Mitchell](https://time.com/author/garrett-mitchell/) Jul 24, 2024 3:29 PM UTC In the blink of an eye on Sunday last, the 2024 presidential race was totally transformed by Joe Biden’s [historic withdrawal](https://time.com/7001028/why-joe-biden-stepped-down/), followed by his immediate “full support and endorsement”of running mate, [Vice President Kamala Harris](https://time.com/7001696/kamala-harris-democratic-delegate-support-presumptive-nominee-dnc/). Oddsmakers, insiders, and cable news pundits were suddenly confronted with a tantalizing new political calculus. No longer a contest between two aging nominees—a current and a former POTUS—now Democrats changed their lineup, leaving open only the question of who would be Harris’ vice presidential candidate. Swiftly, Democrats around the country—delegates, superdelegates, donors, and Congressional leaders—unified in support of Vice President Harris. Overnight, it seemed, nearly $100 million dollars rushed into her campaign coffers. Now, Democrats gather around the cooler for one thing—her decision on a [Vice President](https://time.com/7001222/kamala-harris-vp-pick-list/). **_Read More:_** [_Who Could Be Kamala Harris’ Running Mate? Here’s the Shortlist_](https://time.com/7001222/kamala-harris-vp-pick-list/) Having a strong bench from which to choose, early speculation centered on the Party’s outstanding governors—Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer, Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro, Kentucky’s Andy Beshear, North Carolina’s Roy Cooper, Colorado’s Jared Polis—all from states crucial in Electoral College competition. California governor, Gavin Newsom, has dealt himself out of the deck, in recognition of the Constitutional prohibition against both members of the ticket being from the same state. Some have thought Harris might look to a current Biden cabinet officer—most prominently mentioned are Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. But informed speculation on Capitol Hill and at Washington think tanks , spiked by a new burst of energy and excitement in the Democratic Party, has focused on Arizona’s junior Senator, Mark Kelly, whose credentials and compelling life story have made him a most appealing possibility. To some extent, Harris has been considering Kelly. Shortly after Biden endorsed Harris, she telephoned a number of vice presidential possibilities. Kelly was one of them. Shortly thereafter, he was being officially vetted. The case for Kelly is shiny, authentic, and persuasive. Kelly comes with extensive military experience, helping Harris, who has none. Kelly is a decorated Navy pilot with combat experience. He is a [seasoned astronaut](https://time.com/5528036/mark-kelly-astronauts-politicians/) who commanded the Space Shuttle Endeavor. He campaigned as a political moderate favoring stricter gun control and won a Senate seat from Arizona. After four years on Capitol Hill, a tough place for making friends, Kelly is highly regarded by colleagues on both sides of the aisle. Since 2011, when his wife, former Congress woman [Gabby Giffords](https://time.com/6198452/gabby-giffords-wont-back-down-tells-a-remarkable-story-of-recovery/), was almost killed in an assassination attempt, Kelly has never left her side, organizing her recovery effort, and gaining a reputation for loyalty and kindness, sharing the unbearable and gruesome experience with her. Both—Gifford and Kelly—are seen as American heroes. That he almost certainly puts Arizona’s 11 electoral votes in the Democratic column is a clincher for Harris-Kelly and a coup de grâce for Trump-Vance. In a recent conversation with Kelly’s identical twin brother, Scott, another retired Navy captain and astronaut, the Senator was described as a person skilled in crisis management and scientific exploration, tough on border security and gun control (though he himself owns guns and supports the Second Amendment). During his Senate career, Kelly has been instrumental in several important public policy initiatives, including landmark legislation to reduce prescription drug prices and lower out-of-pocket costs for seniors; the $52 billion bipartisan package to increase domestic microchip manufacturing, and select proposals to ban stock trading by members of Congress, and eliminate corporate PACs. Given the clear determination of Democrats to arrive at and depart from their Chicago convention next month in an animated, energetic, unified posture, Kelly’s story and stature, if attached to the Harris ticket, would strengthen the Democratic quest for an election victory on November 5, ushering in a new generation of political leadership. Welcome aboard, Commander Kelly. ## Transcript 2024 presidential election is shaping up to be one of the most consequential in American history. Now that President Joe Biden has ended his reelection bid, Democrats must choose a replacement nominee, and they don't have a whole lot of time. The election is just over 100 days away, and the Democratic National Convention is set to begin on August 19 in Chicago, just a couple of weeks from now. So far, no Democrat has challenged Vice President C Kamala Harris for the party's nomination. She has already been endorsed by Biden and a handful of prominent Democrats, including Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and California Governor Gavin Newsom. But it remains to be seen if anyone will ultimately challenge her. The next couple of days and weeks are going to be crucial for Democrats. Let me explain who picks the nominee and how that process works. The simple answer is that a few thousand Democratic delegates who represent voters will be deciding the party's nominee, not Joe Biden and not the DNC leadership, but the delegates who are chosen to represent their state or community at the Presidential nominating convention. Delegates are usually early supporters of a candidate or party activists or political leaders. There's around 4,700 of them, and more than 4,000 delegates were pledged to Biden before he dropped out. Now those delegates are free to support whomever they want. And while no Democrat has yet challenged Coma Harris as the nominee, it could get complicated for the delegates if there are other candidates in the mix. For now, it remains unclear when the delegates will vote on a new nominee. The DNC is expected to hold a virtual roll call sometime in early August where the delegates will cast their votes on a new nominee so that they can avoid an open convention, but the DNC hasn't yet officially confirmed that a virtual roll call will take place or even when. Now, there's also an effort among some Republicans to complicate taking Biden off the ballot. House Speaker Mike Johnson said on July 21, every state has its own system, and in some of these, it's not possible to simply just switch out a candidate, That suggests that Republicans are looking to mount an effort to challenge whether replacing Biden on the ticket complies with state election laws, but it remains to be seen whether there's any merit to that argument. One of the biggest questions after Biden and others endorsed Comal Harris was, who would be her running mate in a race against Donald Trump and JD Vance? Harris could be inclined to turn to someone from a swing state that the party means to win like Arizona Senator Marchi or Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. And while we don't know who she's thinking of, she's expected to pick a male running mate that gives the tickets some more balance. Several names have been thrown out already, including Kentucky Governor Andy Bashir, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, Transportation Secretary Pete Budge, and North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, Colorado Governor Jared Polis, and Maryland Governor West Moore. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7002531/case-for-mark-kelly-kamala-harris-vp-essay/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7002531/case-for-mark-kelly-kamala-harris-vp-essay/"},"headline":"The Case for Mark Kelly as Kamala Harris’ VP Pick","datePublished":"2024-07-24T15:29:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-19T07:44:56.631Z","description":"Kelly’s story, if attached to the Harris ticket, would strengthen the Democratic quest for victory, write Marvin Kalb and Garrett Mitchell.","url":"https://time.com/7002531/case-for-mark-kelly-kamala-harris-vp-essay/","keywords":["politics","freelance"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfd3a8fda9c4fe6e3/698a59239862f56d63895f3b/mark-kelly-vp-pick-june-2024.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Marvin Kalb","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/marvin-kalb/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Garrett Mitchell","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/garrett-mitchell/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfd3a8fda9c4fe6e3/698a59239862f56d63895f3b/mark-kelly-vp-pick-june-2024.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"mark-kelly-vp-pick-june-2024","caption":"Biden To Crack Down On Migrants By Slashing Asylum Claims","creditText":"Al Drago—Bloomberg/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/politics/","name":"politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7002531/case-for-mark-kelly-kamala-harris-vp-essay/","name":"The Case for Mark Kelly as Kamala Harris’ VP Pick"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Biden Has Dropped Out of the 2024 Presidential Election. 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