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WASHINGTON (AP) – Arizona Democrat and former astronaut Mark Kelly was sworn in in the Senate on Wednesday, reducing Republican control of the chamber and underscoring his state’s shift from red to blue.
Kelly, 56, defeated GOP Senator Martha McSally in last month’s election, making her one of only three incumbents to lose. On taking office, he reduced the Republican advantage in the chamber to 52-48.
This will have little impact on Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s control of the chamber for the last month of this congressional session. But it sets the stage for two decisive January 5 Senate elections in Georgia.
If the Democrats win both, they will command the 50-50 House for the new Congress that begins in early January because Vice President-elect Kamala Harris would vote a tie.
Kelly was sworn in by Vice President Mike Pence, and both men wore masks and banged their arms in congratulations at the end of the oath. Among those watching from the visitor’s gallery were his wife, former Rep Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz., And Scott Kelly, his twin brother and retired astronaut colleague.
Kelly’s colleague in Arizona, Democratic Senator Kyrsten Sinema, held the Bible to which he was sworn. In what could be a Senate first for such ceremonies, Sinema, known for her dramatic fashion, wore a zebra striped coat and had purple hair, or possibly a wig.
Kelly’s arrival in the Senate marks a political milestone for Arizona, which has two Democratic senators for the first time since January 1953. It was then that GOP Senator Barry Goldwater took office, at barely a decade before he became his party’s failed candidate in 1964.
Further proof of Arizona’s political change, the state backed President-elect Joe Biden last month, the first time he was carried by a Democratic presidential candidate since 1996.
McSally was appointed to her seat in 2019 to replace the late GOP Senator John McCain. His appointment only lasted until last month’s special election was officially certified, which took place this week. This paved the way for Kelly to take office and fill the remainder of McCain’s six-year tenure, which means Kelly will face re-election in 2022.
Kelly was skydiving in a lame duck session in which lawmakers and President Donald Trump have so far been deadlocked on whether to deliver a COVID-19 relief package before the vacation worth hundreds of billions of dollars. They are also trying to tackle year-end budget work and a defense policy bill.
Kelly presented himself as a problem-solving center during his campaign. His slim 2 percentage point win over McSally suggests he will be part of the Democrats’ moderate wing.
In what was one of the country’s most expensive Senate races, Kelly raised $ 89 million. This was right after the $ 108 million raised by defeated South Carolina Democratic Senate candidate Jaime Harrison, according to the 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 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 seriously injured in a mass shooting in 2011 in which six people were killed and a dozen others injured. She and Kelly have become leading figures in unsuccessful efforts to pressure Congress to tighten gun controls.
“Great day, great day,” Giffords told reporters afterwards.
Kelly is the fourth astronaut to be elected to Congress. John Glenn was a Democratic Senator from Ohio, and Harrison Schmitt was a Senator from the GOP from New Mexico. Republican Jack Swigert was elected to the Colorado House, but died of cancer before taking office.
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