Mark Kelly entered the Arizona Senate race against incumbent Martha McSally in powerful fashion, with a 4-and-a-half minute video that draws on the mass shooting that damaged the brain of his wife, former Rep. Gabby Giffords.
The video begins with Kelly, an astronaut, looking at celestial photographs and reminiscing about his time in outer space: "It becomes pretty obvious, pretty early, that when you get into space that we're all kind of in this together."
Kelly is seating on the couch with Giffords, herself a powerful symbol of perseverance. They teasingly recount how he disappointed her when he didn't propose from outer space in 2006. He also shares that his mother overcame institutional sexism to become "one of the first female police officers."
He turns to Giffords and says, "You remember when you first entered Congress for the first time?" "Yes, so exciting," she responds. "I thought then," he says, "that I had the risky job, Turned out that you were the one who had the risky job." The ad shows footage from the crime scene, and then footage of her recuperation.
After sharing how he stayed by her side through the ordeal, he turns to her and asks, "what do you do when bad things happen?" She responds firmly, "Move ahead."
We then see them take a five-mile bike ride. He shares, "what I learned from my wife was how you use policy to improve people's lives."
He doesn't say so explicitly, but the clear implication is that his election would be an extension of her political legacy. For those still saddened by what happened to her, Kelly's video will no doubt resonate.
The video begins with Kelly, an astronaut, looking at celestial photographs and reminiscing about his time in outer space: "It becomes pretty obvious, pretty early, that when you get into space that we're all kind of in this together."
My next mission... #FullSpeedAhead #ForArizona pic.twitter.com/5E36z7aztH
— Mark Kelly (@ShuttleCDRKelly) February 12, 2019
Kelly is seating on the couch with Giffords, herself a powerful symbol of perseverance. They teasingly recount how he disappointed her when he didn't propose from outer space in 2006. He also shares that his mother overcame institutional sexism to become "one of the first female police officers."
He turns to Giffords and says, "You remember when you first entered Congress for the first time?" "Yes, so exciting," she responds. "I thought then," he says, "that I had the risky job, Turned out that you were the one who had the risky job." The ad shows footage from the crime scene, and then footage of her recuperation.
After sharing how he stayed by her side through the ordeal, he turns to her and asks, "what do you do when bad things happen?" She responds firmly, "Move ahead."
We then see them take a five-mile bike ride. He shares, "what I learned from my wife was how you use policy to improve people's lives."
He doesn't say so explicitly, but the clear implication is that his election would be an extension of her political legacy. For those still saddened by what happened to her, Kelly's video will no doubt resonate.