Why I know Mark is the right choice for Arizona

And he’s got my vote

I’ve had the honor of serving Arizona in the State House, State Senate, and as a United States Congresswoman, and in that time I learned a lot about what the people of our state need. We’ve made so much progress, but we still have more work to do. And that’s why we need my husband, Mark Kelly, in the United States Senate. I know firsthand how much better off you are when Mark is fighting by your side. He will be the independent voice Arizona deserves.

My family

Growing up in Arizona, I learned the value of hard work early on while spending hours cleaning out horse stalls at my family’s home in east Tucson. I went to University High School and later to Scripps College, determined to learn as much about the world as I could. After earning a master’s degree in regional planning from Cornell, I got a job at a top accounting firm in New York City. But three months into my new job, I got a call that changed everything.

My dad called me out of the blue and said I needed to come back to Tucson to help him run El Campo, the family tire business. I had just started this new chapter of my life in New York City. But I had to do what was right for my family. So at twenty-six years old, I packed up my heels, put on my cowboy boots, and moved back to Arizona.

Running a tire business wasn’t the plan, but once I started, I was determined to do it right. I made a commitment to my family, and I was going to honor it. I learned the ins and outs of the business. I spent countless hours watching and learning about the business from the employees who had been there for years What I didn’t know at the time was that taking the reins at El Campo was setting me on a path to public service, and ultimately to where I am today.

Serving Arizona

When I started running El Campo, I spent a lot of time in the community. The first thing I learned was that things needed to change. Someone needed to fight for the people who were being left behind or who didn’t feel like they had a voice. I saw the most important issues facing southern Arizonans — the rising costs of health care, the lack of access to quality education, and an economy that wasn’t creating enough good-paying jobs so people could provide for their families right here in Arizona. I felt a call to work to fix these problems and serve my community.

When I first ran for public office in 2000, I did a lot of walking. I knocked on every door that I could, sometimes more than once, to meet voters, listen and learn. I wanted to talk to every one of the 172,000 Arizonans I was running to serve, and I got pretty close! I first won a seat in the Arizona House of Representatives, and then was elected to the Arizona State Senate in 2002. I was the youngest woman to serve in that body. When Congressman Jim Kolbe, an eleven-term congressman for Arizona’s 8th district, announced he wasn’t running for re-election in 2006, I received calls from people all over Arizona urging me to run. And I did. I went to Congress to serve them — only the third Arizona woman to do so.

Mark’s call to serve

When I first decided to run for Congress, Mark and I were already dating. From the moment I met Mark, it was clear to me that he and I shared the same passion for public service, a desire to give back to our community and our country. In the Navy, he served as a combat pilot, flying 39 missions in Operation Desert Storm. When we met, he was an astronaut at NASA with three of his four missions still ahead of him. I saw early on that he worked to learn from those around him to make informed decisions based on science, data, and facts. I knew the type of guts it took to dedicate your life to serving your country, and it was the same passion I had for serving southern Arizona. Right away I knew we’d get along and I was right.

In the summer of 2007, we got married on a farm just outside of Tucson, and every bit of that wedding was uniquely us. From the biodegradable cutlery that I insisted on, to the military sabers gracing our exit, everyone who knew us saw us reflected in the ceremony. That day, in front of all our family and friends, we promised each other that we were in this for the long haul.

But when you fall in love and get married, you’re not thinking about the bad times that might lie ahead. On January 8, 2011, I was shot in the head at a Congress On Your Corner constituent event in Tucson, leaving me fighting for my life. In those first few weeks, I was barely conscious, but Mark was by my side through it all. He later told me that in those first few weeks my hand found his wedding ring and started playing with it, like old times. I think I was sending him a message — of hope.

While I was recovering, Mark was set to command the final mission of Space Shuttle Endeavour and was preparing to launch as part of STS-134. He was nervous leaving me for his mission, but he felt a duty to fulfill his commitment to his crew, who had been training for years. Before his launch, we swapped wedding rings, and he wore mine around his neck in space. He promised me he’d bring it back home to Earth, and he did. That’s the kind of guy Mark is — he follows through on his commitments.

I am so lucky to have Mark by my side. After my injury, I have struggled to speak, but I haven’t lost my voice. He has helped me through my darkest moments. Mark didn’t plan on being a senator, but he knows when it’s time to step up and serve — serve his family, serve his country, and now, serve the great state of Arizona.

He’s the right choice for Arizona, and he’s got my vote.